Video game company NetEase, based in China, said that it is collaborating with Microsoft to bring back famous titles like “World of Warcraft” to the nation following a public backlash that resulted in the termination of a ten-year collaboration in 2023.
The two businesses said in a press statement on Wednesday that they are attempting to return games created by Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Activision Blizzard, a major American video game company that Microsoft purchased last year, to the second-largest economy in the world, beginning this summer.
From 2008 to 2023, Blizzard games were published in China by NetEase.
Furthermore, Microsoft and NetEase said that they have also reached a deal to investigate the possibility of adding new NetEase games to Microsoft’s Xbox gaming consoles and other gaming platforms.
Due to a dispute over intellectual property rights, Blizzard ended its profitable 14-year cooperation with NetEase last year, taking down several of its well-known online games in China.
“We at Blizzard are thrilled to reestablish our partnership with NetEase and to work together, with deep appreciation for the collaboration between our teams, to deliver legendary gaming experiences to players in China,” said Johanna Faries, president of Blizzard Entertainment.
Microsoft and NetEase added that they would investigate the possibility of bringing NetEase games to Xbox and other gaming systems.
This “might be more consequential in the long run for NetEase as it is aspiring to increase its overseas exposure,” said Nomura head of China internet equity research Jialong Shi.
We earlier reported that Microsoft has revealed that its newly established consumer AI branch will now have a new centre in London.
Jordan Hoffmann, who Mustafa Suleyman described as “an exceptional AI scientist and engineer” would be leading the unit in a statement on the company’s blog post.