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On April 9th, the news of "Blizzard's official announcement of the return of the national server this week" continued to rise, and the heartstrings of players were easily plucked again.
The Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter exclusively learned from a number of independent sources that Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase did begin to contact at the end of 2023, and after the Spring Festival, the NetEase Interactive Entertainment Operation Center in Guangzhou has set up a closed base for Blizzard's national server, mainly responsible for daily operations, customer service, etc., and the general person in charge is Zhang Fengyi, vice president of NetEase Games, who was in charge of the "World of Warcraft" project in his early years.
"At least three rows of workstations in the Guangzhou operation center are closed bases reserved for the Blizzard national service team, and the NetEase Interactive Entertainment (Guangzhou) operation center is responsible for daily operations, and Leihuo Studio is responsible for marketing. A senior operator of a large game told a Shell financial reporter. According to a person in the gaming industry, NetEase and Blizzard Entertainment will change the original model of establishing a joint venture company and adopt a simple agency sharing model, which will give agents greater autonomy and operation rights.
The Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter asked NetEase and Blizzard China officials to verify this, but neither party has received any official response as of press time.
Regarding the current results of Blizzard and NetEase "holding hands again", the game operation analysis of the above-mentioned major manufacturers said, "The two sides did fall out before, many rights and interests were not negotiated, and the original team was disbanded." But later, out of interest appeals, including Blizzard, I also inquired about the prices of other agents in China, and finally found that I could only make do with NetEase. A senior analyst in the game industry admitted frankly, "NetEase must be Blizzard's 'spare tire', and this turmoil is a lose-lose result, and Blizzard loses more." ”
From the expiration at the end of 2022, to the controversy over the mutual accusation and refund, to the recent frequent compound news, Chinese players in World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Rebirth, Overwatch, Diablo III, Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft series have experienced a year of ups and downs. But behind the hustle and bustle, whether from the perspective of protecting players' virtual assets or from the difficulty of applying for a version number again, Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase "holding hands again" is a choice with higher investment returns.
The edition number is the biggest limiting factor
In the previous cooperation between the two parties, Blizzard Entertainment was the developer of the above games, and NetEase, a subsidiary of NetEase, was the agent operator of the above games. The version number has objectively become the key to influencing Blizzard Entertainment to change the agent operator.
According to the industrial and commercial registration, the agency operator of the above-mentioned "World of Warcraft", "Hearthstone", "Warcraft III: Rebirth", "Overwatch", "Diablo III", "Heroes of the Storm" and "StarCraft" series is Shanghai NetEase Network Technology Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as NetEase), which is wholly owned by Ding Lei, CEO of NetEase, and was established on January 3, 2008, and the legal representative is Pangzhi.
The above-mentioned senior analyst in the game industry told the Shell financial reporter that NetEase is a wholly-owned company of Ding Lei, and it has a contractual control relationship with NetEase. In other words, if the next agent operator is not NetEase, in principle, it is necessary to go through the version number approval process again according to national regulations. The next agency operator can also try to acquire NetEase, or it can try to operate jointly with NetEase and continue to use the version number in this way, but this is extremely unlikely.
According to Article 5 of the Notice of the Three Departments of the State Council on Further Strengthening the Administration of Online Games, if the operating unit of an online game that has been pre-approved or approved for import by the Press and Publication Administration is changed, it must go through the pre-approval or import approval procedures again, and all operational services for online games shall be stopped from the date of the change of the operating unit to the period when the approval is re-approved.
Previously, the Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) issued by the National Press and Publication Administration also clearly mentioned the change and re-declaration of edition numbers, and emphasized that it is forbidden to buy, sell and apply version numbers. "Where there are substantial changes to the content of online games that have already been approved for publication, or where the game name, game publishing unit, or main operating body is changed, the online game publishing unit shall perform the relevant approval formalities in accordance with provisions. "No unit or individual may lend, lease, buy, sell, or apply the "Online Publishing Services Permit", online game approval number, or publication number in any form. Articles 13 and 14 of the Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Draft for Solicitation of Comments) read.
In recent years, imported game versions have been in short supply, and the content orientation is more inclined to the direction of "family carnival" for all ages. Based on the comprehensive calculation of the information of the National Press and Publication Administration, 748 game version numbers will be issued in 2021, of which 672 are made in China and 76 will be imported, 512 game version numbers will be issued in 2022, 468 of which are made in China and 44 will be imported, and so far in 2023, 1,075 game version numbers will be issued, of which 977 will be made in China and 98 will be imported.
The above-mentioned senior analyst in the game industry said that although the currently announced operating entity is no longer NetEase, as long as NetEasy is an affiliate of NetEase, it can achieve a silky transition without re-applying for a version number.
Potential "Chinese Agent"
So, does Blizzard Entertainment have to find a Chinese agent operator?
According to the above-mentioned senior analyst in the game industry, games developed by overseas game manufacturers need to be operated by Chinese companies. "While Microsoft China, Ubisoft China, etc. have obtained the qualification to set up wholly-owned companies in Chinese mainland to operate games, Blizzard Entertainment is unlikely to obtain such qualifications. Taking 10,000 steps back, Blizzard Entertainment has this qualification, and it will take a long time for it to set up a wholly Chinese-owned company and obtain the pre-qualification for the version number application. ”
In 2016, the former State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television promulgated the Notice on the Administration of Mobile Game Publishing Services, which clarified that mobile games need to be approved before they can be released. Since then, mobile games have officially become "publications" in Chinese mainland, and mobile games that do not meet the requirements will face penalties for illegal publications. The Notice has played an effective positive role in the development of domestic games, especially copyright protection, but it has also made overseas game developers begin to seek more secure domestic agents, especially domestic game manufacturers such as Tencent and NetEase.
Previously, Tencent Holdings, ByteDance, Microsoft China, miHoYo, etc. have become "Chinese agents" rumors.
The chief analyst of media and Internet at a brokerage firm judged that because the above-mentioned games are not too profitable, and Blizzard Entertainment has relatively strict requirements for agency operators, it is more likely to choose a large manufacturer. Tencent Holdings and Blizzard Entertainment previously had a partnership basis for "Dungeons & Warriors", while ByteDance no longer has the possibility of agency due to the contraction of the game business. However, he judged that before the implementation of the "Measures for the Administration of Online Games", everyone would be more cautious.
"Among these rumored companies, miHoYo is the least likely, because the premise (of the agency operator) is to have experience in terminal game operation, and in theory, Tencent and Perfect World are more suitable, and Shengqu and Giant are also qualified. Microsoft China is not impossible, but Microsoft has just acquired Activision Blizzard, and monopoly has always been the focus of attacks on this acquisition in the approval of various countries. The above-mentioned senior analyst of the game industry said.
The above-mentioned game operator told the Beijing News that Blizzard Entertainment does not have much initiative in choosing who to operate as the agent operator in the mainland. He admitted that due to Blizzard Entertainment's strict requirements for agency operators, as well as the "No. 1 difficulty in finding" the imported game version, there are not many options. "From a rational point of view, the last two 'remarriages' are the most reasonable, and Microsoft China may not operate directly for the sake of avoiding suspicion and version numbers. The gaming industry observer said.
Beijing News Chief Reporter Bai Jinlei Editor Wang Jinyu Proofreader Fu Chunsu