Why is Overwatch 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

NetEase

NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile games, advertising services, email services, and e-commerce platforms in China. It is one of the largest Internet and video game companies in the world. NetEase has an on-demand music-streaming service (NetEase Music). The company also owns several pig farms.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › NetEase

NetEase - Wikipedia

, which saw the two gaming giants fail to negotiate an extension to their 14 year-old licensing ...

Why is Overwatch shut down in China?

Overwatch 2 servers in mainland China have been shut down due to a disagreement between Blizzard and Netease. This shutdown does not come as a surprise. As previously reported, Blizzard was unable to reach an agreement with NetEase, the Chinese tech company in charge of publishing the games in mainland China.

Why is Overwatch 2 banned in China?

' As of now, China has banned multiple Blizzard and NetEase titles due to the failure of signing a new license agreement. So, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch 2, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm Chinese fans will have to go through a tough time.

Will Blizzard come back to China?

Blizzard games go dark in China, with no return in sight: 'This is so tragic,' says former Hearthstone director. Blizzard is still looking for a "new partner" to bring its games back to Chinese players, but for now, they're out of luck.

Is Overwatch 2 removed in China?

Overwatch 2 and Other Blizzard Games Shall Be Unavailable to China from Jan 2023. Blizzard is ending its licensing agreement with Chinese company NetEase after 15 years. This means Chinese gamers will no longer be able to access games like Overwatch, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft.

Blizzard Entertainment Is Leaving China: How It Affects Overwatch

Is Overwatch 2 declining?

Overwatch 2 has struggled with a slowly declining viewership base ever since the game's release back in October 2022, starting at around 630k viewers and declining to now 14k as shown in Remy's tweet.

Is Overwatch 2 shutting down?

But now that their original agreement was expiring, Blizzard and NetEase were unfortunately not able to agree on some important terms of cooperation and have therefore decided to end their partnership in 2023.

Why was WoW banned in China?

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.

Why can't China play WoW?

American gaming company Activision Blizzard, the title owner of World of Warcraft, suspended services and shut down its servers in China, because of a licensing disagreement with their partner, the Chinese gaming giant NetEase.

Why doesn't China get much snow?

Blame it on the monsoon

These domes of frigid, sinking air typically block Pacific moisture from reaching northeast China during the winter. As a result, 2 percent of Beijing's annual average precipitation — a mere 0.40 inches — falls between December and February.

Is Overwatch 2 inappropriate?

This game has been rated PEGI 12 for depictions of non-realistic looking violence towards human-like characters. Not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.

Are Overwatch 2 bans permanent?

If this behavior becomes a pattern, the restrictions will escalate in severity, eventually resulting in being banned from Competitive Play for the remainder of the season. If your account is banned from Competitive Play during three separate seasons, your account may be permanently banned from Competitive Play.

Did Overwatch 2 remove Mei?

Overwatch 2 fans may have noticed that one of the most iconic characters in the game has now been disabled. Mei has been a fan favorite since the original game's release, with her ice beam and ice wall abilities giving players a nice change of pace for damage-dealing characters.

Is Overwatch getting deleted?

Overwatch 1 will permanently shut down on October 2, confirms Blizzard. After October 2, Overwatch 1 will be permanently replaced by its free-to-play sequel.

Why is China limiting online gaming?

For years, Chinese authorities have sought to control how much time kids can spend playing games online, to fight “internet addiction.” They've claimed success in curbing the problem but are taking no chances.

Did China ban console gaming?

Notably, China imposed a near-complete ban on video game consoles in 2000, fearing the addicting-like impact of games on its youth; the ban was ultimately lifted in 2015.

Why did Blizzard lose 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 ...

Is it illegal to play Fortnite in China?

Epic Games has pulled the plug on Fortnite in China, the world's largest video gaming market. The move comes following China's ongoing crackdown against online video games that the authorities reportedly consider a waste of time and a bad influence for young kids.

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.

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 banned in Japan?

There's no IP bans/blocks. Been there, done that. WoW wasn't released in Japan because foreign companies need assistance from local publishers to release their products in Japanese market.

What happens if you own Overwatch 1?

Overwatch 1 players will have access to all the skins, voice lines and other cosmetics they unlocked in the original game. They will also get access to new Support hero Kiriko immediately.

Is Overwatch 1 going offline?

Overwatch 1's servers have been taken offline and the game is officially dead. The original Overwatch game launched in 2016, but it is being completely replaced by its sequel, the upcoming Overwatch 2. In preparation for the sequel's launch, Blizzard has shut down the Overwatch 1 servers.

Was anyone removed from Overwatch 2?

Blizzard has announced that it is temporarily removing Overwatch 2 hero Mei from the game due to a bug. The character is expected to return to the game alongside the next patch, which is due out on November 15.