Her d. 23 januar 2023 står samtlige aktive Blizzard-spil, deriblandt World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, Starcraft-serien, Diablo III og Heroes of the Storm, at blive lukket helt ned i Kina.
De suspenderes på ubestemt tid efter at en distributionsaftale med kinesiske NetEase, en aftale der har været aktiv siden 2008, nu løber ud i sandet.
Spørger du Blizzard (via VGC), så slår de fast at de ikke har kunne fornye aftale på en måde "that is consistent with Blizzard's operating principles and commitments to players and employees, and the agreements are set to expire in January 2023."
Spørger du NetEase, så er det hele lidt anderledes, og de siger som udgangspunkt følgende:
"We have put in a great deal of effort and tried with our utmost sincerity to negotiate with Activision Blizzard so that we could continue our collaboration and serve the many dedicated players in China. However, there were material differences on key terms and we could not reach an agreement. We hold high regard in our product and operational standards and abide by our commitments to Chinese players."
Men der er mere, for på sociale medier siger præsident Simon Zhu:
"One day, when what has happened behind the scene could be told, developers and gamers will have a whole new level understanding of how much damage a jerk can make."