China game publishing agreement renewed by Microsoft's Blizzard and Netease

Chinese videogame company NetEase and Microsoft's Blizzard Entertainment announced on Wednesday that they have resurrected their agreement, which calls for Netease to take up Blizzard's game distribution in China.

According to a press statement from the tech giant, Microsoft's gaming business will also look into a wider cooperation with Netease. As part of this agreement, the two will investigate bringing Netease games to the Xbox console and other platforms.

With this arrangement, Netease and Blizzard are reviving their 15-year partnership, which saw the Chinese company publish all of Blizzard's best-selling games in China, including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone, and Overwatch.

A distribution agreement was struck by the two in 2008, however, it was not extended until 2023.

Following Activision-Blizzard's acquisition by Microsoft, Blizzard underwent a significant reorganisation until 2023. The acquisition may possibly have anything to do with the recent Netease contract.

For Blizzard, which has been having some trouble in its North American markets due to mounting criticism over how it has handled the Diablo and Overwatch properties, China has a significant player base.

With PC gaming dominating much of the Chinese industry, Microsoft's partnership with Netease is probably an attempt to further reach that sector.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)