HONG KONG – Chinese games company NetEase Inc. has rejected a proposal by World of Warcraft creator Activision Blizzard to temporarily extend its partnership while the US company seeks a new partner, calling the proposed terms “unequal and unfair” in an escalating public row ” designated.
Blizzard said in November that its 14-year partnership with NetEase would end, meaning the impending January 23 withdrawal of games like World of Warcraft, the Starcraft series and Overwatch from the world’s largest games market.
In a statement, NetEase said Wednesday that Blizzard has proposed extending the partnership by six months on the existing terms while continuing to search for a new partner in China.
“We believe Blizzard’s proposal is … rude, inappropriate and not in line with business logic,” NetEase said.
The Chinese company criticized Blizzard for its “overconfidence” in requests that allegedly showed a lack of consideration for NetEase and gamers.
NetEase’s statement came a day after Blizzard said the Chinese firm refused to accept an extension offer that would have prevented a disruption in services in the Chinese market while the US firm continued negotiations with potential partners.
Blizzard has yet to find a new Chinese publisher for its games, as is required to release its titles in China. It said it would release a service that would allow users to save and download their World of Warcraft progress so they can pick up where they left off when the game comes back online.
Partly due to NetEase’s long-standing partnership with Blizzard, the Chinese company has grown to become China’s second-biggest games distributor after local rival Tencent.
NetEase’s stock plummeted after announcing in November that the partnership was ending. They rebounded after the company said Blizzard’s games accounted for only a low single-digit percentage of total sales and revenue.
NetEase CEO William Ding said at the time that there were “material differences in key terms” that the two companies couldn’t agree on.
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