Did millions of Chinese lose access to WoW?

Millions of players in China have lost access to the iconic “World of Warcraft” franchise and other popular video games, as Blizzard Entertainment's servers in the country went offline after two decades.

Why did Chinese players lose access to World of Warcraft?

Millions of Chinese gamers have lost access to World of Warcraft after a furious dispute between U.S. title owner Activision Blizzard and NetEase, its longtime local partner in the world's biggest gaming market.

How many WoW players are there in China?

It impacts not just Warcraft, which has an estimated three million players in China, but Blizzard's other hits like multiplayer shooter Overwatch, card game Hearthstone, and sci-fi strategy title Starcraft.

Is WoW losing popularity?

According to the latest estimates, WoW has around 8.5 million players in 2023 (including Chinese players). This is a huge number, and it's evidence that the game is still massively popular, even after all these years.

Is WoW on the decline?

World of Warcraft is one of the most profitable games in history, but it's undeniably in decline. Faced with rampant lawsuits and poor exec decisions, Activision Blizzard has started hemorrhaging players and key talent across its games and development teams.

WoW Dead in China... Could it Happen Here? Blizzard Vs Netease

Is WoW popular in China?

“World of Warcraft,” also known as “WoW,” is a hugely popular online multiplayer game that allows users to fight monsters and journey through expeditions in the medieval world of Azeroth. Many gamers around the world have grown up with the smash hit, including in China.

Will China get WoW back?

Chinese WoW Servers Shut Down After 14 Years Following Expiration Of NetEase Agreement. Blizzard games, including World of Warcraft, will be unplayable in China for the foreseeable future.

Why is Blizzard leaving China?

Blizzard Entertainment titles including Overwatch, Starcraft, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft have officially gone offline in China following a tumultuous end to the developer's distribution partnership with NetEase, which saw the two gaming giants fail to negotiate an extension to their 14 year-old licensing ...

Do Japanese people play WoW?

Welcome to the world of #wowjp, a network of Japanese WoW players who've learned English primarily through playing the game. You can find localized versions of World of Warcraft in Korea, mainland China and Taiwan, but Japanese players are left to their own devices -- no dedicated servers, no language localization.

Why are WoW players quitting?

Blizzard had gone through a workplace harassment scandal in 2021, leading many players and content creators to leave WoW behind. This, coupled with the sour reaction from the community to Shadowlands, led the MMO to one of the lowest subscriber counts since it launched in 2004.

Who runs WoW in China?

NetEase, Inc.

It is one of the largest Internet and video game companies in the world.

How much of China owns Blizzard?

So watching ABC news last night. Turns out a Chinese based company, actually owns seventy percent of Activision/Blizzard. Now we can see why the lootbox game mentality has over taken the game.

How much does Blizzard make in China?

As reported by Bloomberg, China accounted for at least 3% of Activision Blizzard's net revenue last year, including over $400 million in esports earnings.

Can you play WoW in Hong Kong?

You can play WoW in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, as well as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China -- but you can't mix freely with players on servers in other areas.

How much is WoW subscription in China?

The new fees are 30¥ (about $5) for 2700 minutes and 15¥ (about $2.50) for 1350 minutes, an increase of 45%. Though those rates may seem low by our standards, it's a big increase for Chinese gamers, who have accounted for more of WoW's recent subscriber drop than gamers elsewhere.

How is WoW different in China?

Historically, the Chinese version of the game has been altered to tone down depictions of skeletons and death to court approval from Chinese censors.

What country does China still claim?

The Republic of China based in Taiwan officially maintains a territorial claim on parts of Bhutan to this day. The territorial claim was maintained by the People's Republic of China after the Chinese Communist Party took control of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War.

How is WoW doing in China?

Most reports say that China accounted for 3% of the Activision Blizzard's revenue in 2021. Its a pretty big hit…but smaller than you make it out to be. Caerian: I'm estimating that a little over half of the subscriber base was based in China.

What MMO is most played in China?

Dungeon Fighter Online is still king in China, but World of Warcraft and Fantasy Westward Journey are pretty popular still as well.

Who is the biggest online seller in China?

JD: JD Worldwide

Founded in 1998, JD.com is the largest B2C online retailer in China and one of the biggest competitors to Alibaba. It provides about 400,000 new products including cell phones, home appliances, apparel, electronics, and more.

When did WoW start declining?

Since May 2011, the number of players playing had decreased by 10% from 11.4 million to 10.3 million. Blizzard's CEO Mike Morhaime said that the reason was probably due to a drop-off in the Eastern markets.

Is Microsoft taking over WoW?

As a result of the acquisition, Microsoft is now the third-largest gaming company in terms of sales after Tencent from China and Sony from Japan. This means that world-famous gaming titles such as “Warcraft”, “Diablo”, “Overwatch”, “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush” will also be owned by the Xbox manufacturer.

Did WoW lose subscribers?

The quarterly report revealed that World of Warcraft is now down to 5.6 million subscribers, its lowest level since 2006. Despite a surge back to 10 million six months ago during the release of the expansion Warlords of Draenor, since then, subscribers have been fleeing the game in record numbers.

How much of Activision does China own?

Tencent took part in Activision Blizzard splitting from Vivendi as a passive investor in 2013 and now owns less than 4.9% of the shares as of 2017. On 17 September 2013, it was announced that Tencent had invested $448 million for a minority share in Chinese search engine Sogou.com, the subsidiary of Sohu, Inc.