NetEase recently livestreamed the destruction of its Blizzard offices to a crowd of 30,000 people. The dissolution of the Blizzard and NetEase partnership took a spicy turn after the former accused the latter of being responsible for the deal falling apart.
In late 2022, Blizzard announced its partnership with NetEase was coming to an end, and that service of most of its games would be discontinued on January 24, 2023, until another partner was found. Just recently, Blizzard sought a six-month extension to its current contract, which NetEase subsequently refused.
However, Blizzard’s recent statements made it seem like NetEase was at fault for the failed partnership. NetEase took umbrage with the accusation and clapped back with a response of its own. It called Blizzard’s attempt to extend its contract while looking for a replacement “brash, unseemly, and commercially illogical,” and accuses it of ignoring the difficulties it is causing for both NetEase and the players. It also clarified NetEase is not being consulted on the character data archiving process for World of Warcraft, and that any loss of virtual property will be Blizzard’s fault.
Incensed by the accusations, NetEase went so far as to livestream the destruction of its Blizzard offices. Employees demolished the physical offices, dismantled the giant replica of the legendary World of Warcraft weapon Gorehowl, and broke the local version of the iconic Blizzard Orc statue. Once they were done, NetEase’s coffee shop gave the participants a new drink called Blizzard Green Tea. “Green Tea” is used as slang in China for someone who is disingenuously innocent, wholesome, or traditional, making NetEase’s opinion of Blizzard quite clear.
Fans don’t know who to side with in the recent drama between Blizzard and NetEase. On one end, players aren’t happy with finding out Blizzard tried to paint NetEase as the bad guy in the situation when it was also at fault. On the other hand, NetEase is hardly innocent and has been scrutinized for aggressive and greedy business models. Riot Games is even actively suing NetEase over Valorant copycat game, Hyper Front.
The true victims in this situation, however, are the fans. Barring Diablo Immortal, which has a special contract, all Blizzard games will be indefinitely unavailable in China starting January 24. Players won’t be able to play during this period, and many fear some data may be lost in games like World of Warcraft if a new deal is established in the Chinese market in the future. Regardless of the specifics, it seems both Blizzard and NetEase are to blame for depriving these players of their right to game on.
