Blizzard’s return to China sees millions sign up ahead of game releases

World of Warcraft & other Blizzard games have been unavailable in China since 2023, after a dispute between Blizzard and its partner in the region, NetEase, left the game in limbo. Now, it’s coming back, and players are keen to jump back in.

As first confirmed by Wowhead based on a report published by Blizzard’s arm in the region, more than 2 million players have signed up to resume their adventures, ahead of the game’s relaunch. There is no date for its arrival, but the logistics of the decision to resume will likely push it to the end of the year or beyond.

It also seems that Blizzard and NetEase are heavily investing in the project, with a new joint venture company now accepting prospective employee applications. This has proved hugely competitive, with more than 1,000 applications received in just two days.

Account recovery and reactivations are also well underway, with Blizzard able to restore more than 92,000 accounts since the process began. It’s also important to note that many players switched over to Taiwanese servers when the partnership fell apart in 2023.

That said, playing on servers in other countries quickly became an impracticality for many with slower internet, with China’s significant rural population further complicating the issue.

Blizzard’s relationship with China has become increasingly complex in recent years. Back in October 2019, popular competitive Hearthstone player Blitzchung was banned from a tournament and fined after voicing his support for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests.

With those more divisive issues behind them, the developer still holds a huge appeal in the region.