Blizzard and NetEase extend China publishing deal until 2023

Blizzard has extended its publishing deal with NetEase so the tech company can continue distributing its games in mainland China. 

The pair have been working together to publish Blizzard titles in the region for the past 11 years, and have now extended their publishing agreement until January 2023. 

The collaboration began back in 2008 with a licensing deal to bring StarCraft II and the Battle.net platform to China. Since then, the duo have worked together to launch other titles like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo III in the region. 

"We're pleased to continue our successful partnership with Blizzard after more than a decade of close cooperation," said William Ding, founder and CEO of NetEase. 

"The scope of our collaboration is now deeper and broader than ever before. We're confident that together we will continue to bring even more exciting game experiences to players worldwide."