World of Warcraft in China to go offline for weeks in operator handoverFiled under:
World of Warcraft,
Fantasy,
Business models,
MMO industry,
News items
World of Warcraft is perhaps the only Western MMO to enjoy tremendous success thus far in
China, the world's
fastest growing market for online games. It's been a difficult road to the top though, if recent news reports are any indication. In addition to government regulations preventing
Wrath of the Lich King from releasing for the Mainland, we've reported that The9 has
lost the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China to competitor NetEase. Now we learn that the transition of operations from The9 to NetEase will mean
World of Warcraft goes dark in China for a matter of weeks.
JLM Pacific Epoch in Shanghai has been following the story and reports that
The9 will cease mainland operation of WoW at midnight on June 7th, after four years of continual service.
World of Warcraft will return to China in "late June" under the banner of NetEase. It's expected that character data will be preserved with the handover.
One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!Continue reading World of Warcraft in China to go offline for weeks in operator handover
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CommentsAuthor: James Egan
Category: blizzardbusiness-modelschinafantasymmo-industryneteasepublishersthe9world-of-warcraftwowwow-china
Publish Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST
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