Activision Blizzard has announced that several of its game franchises including Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and more will be unplayable in China as of January 23, 2023.
The Blizzard side of its business was unable to reach a new deal with Chinese tech company NetEase, who publishes the games in China, meaning its agreement will expire on the aforementioned date.
World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch 2, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm will all be unplayable. Diablo: Immortal, Blizzard's controversial mobile game, is published under a separate agreement and is therefore unaffected at the moment.
Activision Blizzard is already looking into alternative ways to bring its...