World of Warcraft Netease deal extended
Published on
Netease has signed up for another three years of delivering World of Warcraft to China.
The deal secures World of Warcraft's continuing publication in China ahead of the Mists of Pandaria expansion. VentureBeat reports Netease has largely caught up its expansion backlog; the MMORPG has experienced problems gaining local approval of expansion content, leading to delays.
World of Warcraft went offline in China for two months when Blizzard and The9 parted ways. Although Netease had already sign on to take over, the deal was stymied by Chinese authorities and left players hanging.
Blizzard's effort has become one of Netease's primary earners, and the publisher has established itself as a significant player in China as a result.