Regarding the server downtime in January, NetEase, Blizzard Entertainment’s former publishing partner in the Chinese market, has filed a lawsuit against the company. Blizzard is being sued by NetEase for 300 million yuan in damages (about $43.5 million), claiming that it cut off service to more than 1 million customers in the Chinese markets after talks to renew a licencing arrangement broke down. The 14-year collaboration between NetEase and Blizzard came to an end in January, and soon after players in China lost access to the publisher’s games, NetEase made a bold statement by toppling a Blizzard statue on a webcast.
Now, NetEase is asking for due compensation, in addition to payment for unsold merchandise stocks, as well as violation of licensing agreements and refund of deposits made for upcoming games that didn’t release. The partnership was worth around $750 million in annual revenue.
Meanwhile, players are still unable to play Blizzard games in China since the publisher has yet to find another licensing partner to maintain its operations in the country. When servers shut down, Blizzard promised to give refunds to players, but NetEase claims it has actually been refunding players.
This NetEase-Blizzard lawsuit comes just weeks after Activision Blizzard settled for $18 million with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) amid allegations of gender-based discrimination, retaliation, as well as sexual harassment.
Dot Esports has reached out to Blizzard Entertainment for comment. This article will be updated in the event of a response from the publisher.