Millions of Chinese World of Warcraft players said goodbye to the world of Azeroth. Blizzard has shut down the servers of almost all of its projects in China. In addition to the aforementioned MMORPG, developers have closed Overwatch 2, Diablo 3 and Hearthstone among others.
Blizzard games have been available in the country since 2008 through a deal with NetEase. According to Chinese law, foreign developers must cooperate with local companies to enter the market. However, 14 years after the expiration of the contract, the two large corporations could not reach an agreement on its renewal.
Blizzard has already said it is in talks with several potential partners to continue releasing its games in China. However, whether the developers will be able to agree with someone – only time will tell. Now many Chinese players are “moving” to other Asian servers, losing all the progress they have earned over the years.
