On January 17, Blizzard China issued an official note on Sina Weibo, providing some explanations for the "Blizzard Games National Service Suspended" incident.
Blizzard mentioned that it approached NetEase last week to discuss extending the 2019 agreement by six months. NetEase did not accept Blizzard's proposal, so Blizzard Games' national server will still be suspended on January 23.
At present, Blizzard has opened talks with a number of potential partners. Blizzard said it is still trying to find partners who share their faith.
Regarding discontinuation, Blizzard will introduce World of Warcraft progress saving on January 18. Players can download their game progress for future use.
For the virtual currency and game time that players have recharged but have not consumed, Blizzard said that NetEase will open a refund application channel later. Players need to pay attention to NetEase's refund information.
According to the South China Morning Post, NetEase's Blizzard game operations department has been disbanded. Most of the employees left, and a few were transferred to other teams in Shanghai.
At present, there are about 10 people left in the original department to handle logistics and customer service. But according to the above, their work will only last six months at most.
Source: Blizzard China/South China Morning Post