NetEase publicly destroys World of Warcraft statue

An apparent symbolic move directed against Blizzard was made by the Chinese corporation NetEase by demolishing a World of Warcraft statue outside their headquarters. Blizzard’s last-minute attempt to extend the license for World of Warcraft and other games in China for six months has drawn criticism from NetEase. because of that. On January 22, WoW will stop operating in the area.

Blizzard China contacted NetEase, who reportedly turned down their request to extend their long-term cooperation for another six months. Activision Blizzard was charged with “seeking a divorce while remaining attached” by NetEase, which called the idea “commercially irrational.”
The shutdown was announced on the official World of Warcraft website in China, with a statement from NetEase stating that the game’s license had expired and would not be renewed. The statement also thanked players for their support over the years and apologized for any inconvenience caused by the shutdown. Many World of Warcraft gamers in China were shocked to hear this news because the nation had a sizable and devoted fan following for the game. China has really been one of the game’s most significant markets, with many players there spending both money and thousands of hours on it.

Alan Gai, a Chinese esports broadcaster, claims that NetEase demolished the monument on Wednesday while live-streaming the event on its Naraka Bladepoint channel. The incident was then captured on TikTok by the Chinese TikTok channel ChaikingNDS, who also showed participants receiving special ‘Blizzard Green Tea’ drinks as a reward.

Netease dismantled the Warcraft Gorehowl statue in its park and set up a live stream. $NTES rejected Blizzard $ATVI's proposal about extending their 14-year partnership for six months to look for a new partner, saying that was non-reciprocal and unfair.https://t.co/Z35BaWer2B pic.twitter.com/lLUb3QsT4W

— CN Wire (@Sino_Market) January 18, 2023

The statue was demolished a day after Blizzard announced on its official Weibo page that all Blizzard games would be shut down in China.