World of Warcraft is leaving China. NetEase license expires.

World of Warcraft is leaving China. NetEase license expires. BusinessWire has reported that most of Blizzard’s games will not work in China due to the expiration of their NetEase license. Projects affected under the ban include World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the Starcraft games, Diablo III and Heroes of the Storm.

The contract between Blizzard and NetEase was made in 2008 and expires on January 23, 2023. That’s the date on which the games mentioned above will cease to be played in China. It looks like the license will not be renewed.

In China, Diablo Immortal will not be affected in this case, because it was developed jointly by the companies, and is also subject to a different licensing agreement.