Investing.com — Blizzard Entertainment, a Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:) company, and Chinese video game company NetEase Inc (HK:) announced Wednesday that they have revived an agreement for Netease to resume distribution of Blizzard games in China. .
Microsoft's gaming division also said in a press release that it would consider a broader partnership with NetEase, under which the two companies would consider bringing NetEase titles to Xbox consoles and other platforms.
Netease and Blizzard's agreement revives a 15-year agreement in which the Chinese company publishes all of Blizzard's biggest titles in China, including franchises such as Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch and Warcraft.
The two companies had a distribution agreement in 2008, but failed to renew the agreement until 2023.
Blizzard underwent a major overhaul by 2023 after its parent company, Activision Blizzard, was acquired by Microsoft. The acquisition could also be related to new deals for NetEase.
China represents a major player base for Blizzard, and the company has struggled somewhat in the North American market amid growing anger over its handling of the Diablo and Overwatch franchises.
Microsoft's partnership with Netease likely represents an effort by the tech giant to expand further into the Chinese market, which is dominated by PC gaming.
NetEase's Hong Kong shares rose 0.2% on Wednesday, after rising nearly 4% earlier. The company's American Depositary Shares (NASDAQ:) also rose nearly 4% in overnight trading after Chinese media reported that a deal with Blizzard was imminent.
