Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard announced on Wednesday that they could not reach an agreement with Chinese publisher NetEase to continue supporting Blizzard games in China.
After entering the country in 2008, Blizzard is officially getting out of China (for now) and its all because of one "jerk", according to NetEase President, Simon Zhu. It isn't clear who the "jerk" is at Blizzard, most speculation seems to point to Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, but that could be just a well educated guess considering Kotick's record. While the situation is unfortunate for many gamers in China who just want to continue playing their favorite games, I can't but feel vindicated after Blizzard's policy of appeasement towards Chinese authority.
When I was still in college, I wrote an article (note: not the one linked ahead) condemning the banning of professional Hearthstone player "Blitzchung" for voicing a message of support for Hong Kong in 2019. While Blizzard claimed their relationship with China and NetEase did not have an effect, its hard to believe that considering how far foreign they have gone to not sour their relationship with China.
Now after they caused such a huge ordeal by banning Blitzchung, they decide 'oh, the hell with it' and get out anyways. For years now corporations, U.S. companies in particular, have gone through great lengths to stay in the good graces of the Chinese government. Disney, Blizzard, the NBA, and others have continued to make their fiscal interest in China their top priority.
NetEase's influence over Blizzard has also come into question recently and it is fitting its because of Diablo and greed. This article from Windows Central claims they have sources that have confirmed that the often-loathed monetization system in Diablo: Immortal is a direct result of pressure from NetEase. If so, this will certainly effect the future of the game and quite possibly the future of monetization in Blizzard depending on how far reaching their influence was.
This will no doubt effect the upcoming closure of the Microsoft buyout of the company. I can only speculate it will be a positive turn of events, weakening the position that Activision-Blizzard is simply too big to be acquired. With China out of the picture, which takes with it a huge chunk of the mobile gaming market, Blizzard's operations and their bottom line will be affected.
Frankly, I think any Western entertainment getting out of China can only be a positive thing considering the current cultural and political climate. They have been allowed to influence Western companies with their own politics and money too long. Just take a look at this article from Variety comparing the difference in Star Wars posters in the West and China. How can Disney claim any moral superiority when they are so willing to succumb to Chinese racism? How can Blizzard do the same when they ban players for speaking out on political topics that don't help make them money?
Maybe the roosters have finally come home to roost and more and more companies will figure out it just ain't worth the trouble being in China.
One can only hope.
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