Activision Blizzard and Chinese gaming giant NetEase have ended their 14-year feud, paving the way for popular games such as World of Warcraft to return to the Chinese market this summer. The two companies had been at odds over intellectual property control, which resulted in lawsuits being filed by both parties. However, they have now put aside their differences to bring back games like Hearthstone, Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft to Chinese players.
China is the largest online gaming market in the world, with domestic revenue reaching 303 billion yuan at the end of last year. NetEase is the second-largest video games company in the country, trailing behind Tencent. Microsoft and NetEase have also announced plans to explore bringing new NetEase titles to Microsoft’s Xbox gaming consoles and other platforms.
Despite the lucrative nature of the gaming sector in China, it has faced frequent challenges from the authorities. In 2021, the government imposed restrictions on online gaming for minors, limiting playtime to one hour on Fridays, weekends, and holidays. Last year, further restrictions were announced to control in-game purchases. However, China has since eased some of these rules in response to concerns about “obsessive” gaming.
