Blizzard will be allowingWorld of Warcraftplayers in China to download their character data for safekeeping as the game’s servers prepare to shut down in the world’s biggest gaming market. Although it may be far in the future, this unusual move will preserve players' hard-earned years of progress in the event thatWorld of Warcraftreturns to China at a later date.
Late in November, it was announced thatBlizzard would be suspending services in Chinadue to a failure to reach an amicable publishing agreement with longtime Chinese publishing partner NetEase. Although it’s uncertain what specific details fell through, Bloomberg reported through an anonymous source that “the problems weren’t just the financial terms of the deal – who owned the intellectual property and player data were also in dispute.” As a result, most of Blizzard’s services includingWorld of Warcraft,Overwatch,Starcraft 2, andHearthstonewill cease to operate in China.
RELATED:Blizzard Legend Chris Metzen Returns to World of Warcraft
In an announcement on Wowhead,Warcraftfranchise general manager John Hight reassured players that Blizzard is looking for a new distribution partner in China and that “We expect that the transition to the new partner for theWorld of WarcraftCN service will go smoothly.” Until then, ChineseWorld of Warcraftplayers will be able to take their character data into their own hands by downloading their data onto their personal devices to be used whenever Blizzard services return to the region. It can be devastating to lose potentially decades of progress and memories in agame likeWorld of Warcraft, and many players likely would never return to the game if they lost their data.
There may be more behind this failed deal than financial terms and intellectual property disputes, however, asNetEase Global Investmentpresident Simon Zhu stated on LinkedIn that “One day, when what has happened behind the scene could be told, developers and gamers will have a whole new level of understanding of how much damage a jerk can make.” Simon Zhu himself is an avid gamer who has admitted to spending “ten thousand hours” onWorld of Warcraft,Starcraft, andOverwatch. It’s troubling that a massive international deal could have fallen through because of one individual.
Blizzard has gone to great lengths in the past to makeWorld of Warcraftaccessible in China, altering many character models and textures to fit China’s strict censorship policies from the skulls lining the road to Icecrown Citadel to the visible bones of Undead characters. Hopefully, Blizzard finds a new publishing agreement soon so that Chinese players rejoin their characters in Azeroth.
World of Warcraftis available on PC.
MORE:World of Warcraft Dragonflight: What Makes Raszageth More Compelling Than the Jailer
