NetEase has slammed Blizzard’s last-minute proposal to extend the license of WoW and other games for six months in China. As a result. WoW is shutting down in the region starting January 22.
According to Reuters, Blizzard China reached out to NetEase who rejected their proposal to extend their long-term partnership for 6 months. NetEase said the proposal was “commercially illogical” and accused Activision Blizzard of “seeking a divorce but remaining attached”.
Blizzard revealed in November it would end its 14-year partnership with NetEase, which caught the industry by surprise.
The person, who declined to be identified, said NetEase had proposed to make structural changes to the partnership that would affect Blizzard’s control over its intellectual property.
In the meantime, Chinese gaming giant Tencent revealed its new MMORPG called Tarisland, which appears to be heavily inspired by World of Warcraft, as seen in the reveal trailer.
While Blizzard is still searching for a publishing partner in China, the only thing players can do now is export their account data and wait.
