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Chinese gamers sadly bid farewell to ‘World of Warcraft’


"World of Warcraft"  is an online multiplayer role-playing game set in a fantasy medieval world where good battles evil.

“World of Warcraft” is an online multiplayer role-playing game set in a fantasy Medieval world where good battles evil.

Chinese player role-playing epic “World of Warcraft” sadly bid farewell to the land of Azeroth on Monday, with the game going offline following a dispute between US developer Blizzard and local partner NetEase.

Widespread worldwide, especially in the 2000s, “World of Warcraft”—often abbreviated WoW—is an online multiplayer role-playing game set in a medieval world. fantasy, where good fights evil.

It is known for its immersive and addictive gameplay, and players can achieve hundreds of hours of gameplay.

Blizzard games have been available in China since 2008, through a partnership with internet giant NetEase—under local law, foreign developers must partner with Chinese companies to participate. market.

But after 14 years and millions of players in China, the two companies announced in November that talks over extending their operating contracts had not resulted in an agreement.

As a result, WoW’s China servers will go offline on Tuesday at midnight local time (1600 GMT).

Other popular titles from the California gaming giant – one of the biggest game studios in the world – will suffer the same fate, including “Overwatch”, “Diablo III” and “Hearthstone”.

“That’s the end,” wrote one Weibo user, accompanied by a crying emoji.

“It’s not just a game. It is also the memory of an entire generation,” another wrote.

“Two companies have taken players hostage,” Wu, a 30-year-old PhD student and a longtime fan, told AFP.

Last week, Blizzard China said it had requested a special contract extension for six months, but NetEase declined.

“One day, when what happens behind the scenes can be told, developers and gamers will have a whole new understanding of how much damage a fool can do. ,” NetEase President Simon Zhu wrote on LinkedIn late last year.

Blizzard has said that it is in “discussions” with “several potential partner people who share our values” to continue to deliver its titles in China.

Blizzard China said the deactivation of the Chinese servers was not “the end” but just a “temporary unhappy suspension”.

According to the US company, user data can be saved for use if and when the game returns to China.

But graduate student Wu – who says he plays WoW for up to three hours a day – saw the positive side of the story.

“I didn’t give my wife enough time. Now that ‘World of Warcraft’ is gone, I want to make amends,” he said.

© 2023 AFP

quote: Chinese gamers sadly bid farewell to ‘World of Warcraft’ (2023, January 23) get January 23, 2023 from https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-chinese-gamers-sad- farewell-world.html

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