NetEase is now reportedly suing Blizzard following their China licensing split

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NetEase is now reportedly suing Blizzard following their China licensing split | VGC

NetEase is reportedly demanding compensation for unsold merchandise and refunds…

www.videogameschronicle.com

NetEase has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Blizzard Entertainment, after the long-term partners ended their China licensing deal earlier this year.

Activision Blizzard, which had held licensing agreements with NetEase since 2008, pulled its games from the Chinese market in January.

The move left local players unable to access titles, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the StarCraft series, Diablo 3, and Heroes of the Storm.

Now, according to Chinese publication Sina Technology (via WoWhead), NetEase has filed a lawsuit against Blizzard, seeking ¥300 million Yuan (roughly $43.5 million USD) to cover refunds for discontinued games and services.

etEase is reportedly also demanding compensation for unsold merchandise inventory and deposits on undeveloped games, in addition to “unequal provisions favoring Blizzard Entertainment” in the licensing agreements between the pair.

VGC has asked NetEase for comment on this story.

 

[Bryank75]

Nice, go get em Netease!

 

[ethomaz]

They are in their right.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

The obvious connective fabric here being Microsoft

 

[Zzero]

And they'll win too, because Chinese companies win in Chinese court. Damage claims are actually pretty low value though, IMO. The "unequal provisions" thing is the key, in China those are (foreigner) fighting words based on certain historical events and hint at how the case is going to go.