Overwatch, other Blizzard games may make long-awaited return to China

Popular Blizzard titles like Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, and others might be looking to make a return to mainland China if reports about Blizzard’s plans to renew its contract with NetEase in 2024 are to be believed.

According to a local outlet named 36Kr’s report on Dec. 25, which Dot Esports translated using Google’s language conversion program, multiple sources have claimed Blizzard is currently in talks with NetEase to renew their agreement, which was possibly made easier with Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.

While attempting to bring back its servers and business to mainland China since the services closed back in January 2023, the American publisher has reportedly been trying to negotiate with other Chinese publishers but seemingly settled with NetEase in the end.

If the report is to be believed, gamers residing in China will be able to enjoy existing titles like Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft’s old and upcoming expansions, Diablo IV, and more, as well as future releases, once the Chinese Battle.net servers are back up. 36Kr claims the process of reinstating the servers and completing other crucial steps needed for Blizzard’s return can take six months or more, so players in the region might have to wait a substantial period of time before they get to play their favorite games again. 

Back in November 2022, Blizzard announced it’d be discontinuing most of its IPs in mainland China due to the imminent expiration of the licensing agreements with NetEase in January 2023, leading to the suspension of extremely popular IPs like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm in the region.

Announcing the end of a 14-year partnership that allowed Blizzard games to be available in China, the publisher said it was unable to reach a renewing deal with NetEase that was “consistent with Blizzard’s operating principles and commitments to players and employees.” Needless to say, Blizzard’s abrupt decision to end its services in China broke the hearts of several gamers in the country, becoming a major talking point in the video game community.

But now, things seem to have changed in favor of the contract’s renewal in 2024, possibly due to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, which was finalized in October 2023, leading to several changes within the company.