According to information revealed by the Chinese media Sina Technology, NetEase has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Blizzard following the closure of its games in China. The lawsuit asks Blizzard to pay almost €40 million to NetEase to cover refunds and other costs.
NetEase files lawsuit against Blizzard
The technology company NetEase, over the years, has been responsible for increasing its influence in the Western video game industry; apparently, it has recently sued Blizzard Entertainment to recover costs arising from the cessation of the company’s game service in the Asian country.
We are saying that NetEase was responsible for operating titles such as Hearthstone, Diablo III, and World of Warcraft in China; similarly as Amazon Games does with the Asian title Lost Ark in some Western countries.
The media WoWhead was in charge of translating the information published by Sina Technology. According to the information published, NetEase has allegedly filed a lawsuit against Blizzard, claiming 300 million yuan, almost € 40 million.
NetEase is asking for this large amount of money to make reimbursement payments associated with the closure of games and services; in addition, with this money, NetEase expects to recover the cost of Blizzard’s merchandise that could not be sold.
Likewise, with the 300 million yuan, they expect to be able to compensate the deposit for the games that are still under development.
Agreement between Blizzard and NetEase comes to an end
On January 23rd, the agreement between Blizzard and NetEase ended, which means that some of the most popular games, such as World of Warcraft and Starcraft, can no longer be played in China.
The end of the agreement between the two companies has come as a surprise to all fans of Blizzard games due to the importance of licensing those games in China.
A miscommunication may have led to the end of the agreement between Blizzard and NetEase
According to the information published, the communication between both companies was not very good before the cessation of Blizzard’s operations in China. However, it is important to note that NetEase made a live broadcast in January where a World of Warcraft statue was shot down from its offices.
Netease dismantled the Warcraft Gorehowl statue in its park and set up a live stream. $NTES rejected Blizzard $ATVI's proposal about extending their 14-year partnership for six months to look for a new partner, saying that was non-reciprocal and unfair.https://t.co/Z35BaWer2B pic.twitter.com/lLUb3QsT4W
— CN Wire (@Sino_Market) January 18, 2023
On the other hand, it is said that in October last year, Blizzard and NetEase met to discuss the terms and conditions for the contract renewal. However, the agreement was allegedly misinterpreted, leading Blizzard to believe that NetEase threatened to influence the Chinese government to oppose or support Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision based on the outcome of the agreement between Blizzard and NetEase.
In any case, after the termination of the agreement between these two companies, the ones who have been most affected are the Chinese gamers who will not be able to access the titles they love.