netease

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  • The logo of internet technology company Netease is seen at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, also known as ChinaJoy, in Shanghai, China July 30, 2021. Picture taken July 30, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

    NetEase executives and workers were reportedly arrested amid a corruption investigation

    Two former NetEase executives and several ex-employees have been implicated in an alleged money laundering scheme at the video game company.

    Kris Holt
    11.09.2024
  • A view shows Blizzard Entertainment's campus, after Microsoft Corp announced the purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in the biggest gaming industry deal in history, in Irvine, California, U.S., January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

    Blizzard games are returning to China this summer

    Blizzard games including World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2 are returning to China after the publisher reached a new licensing deal with NetEase. The games vanished from the country in January 2023 after a previous agreement expired.

    Kris Holt
    04.10.2024
  • A title card for the game.

    Marvel Rivals is a new Overwatch-like team shooter

    Marvel Rivals is a new Overwatch-like team shooter from Marvel Games and NetEase. The multiplayer title will let people play as characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man.

    Lawrence Bonk
    03.27.2024
  • Image of a farm with dark clouds above with text reading "Bullet Farm."

    Former Call of Duty designer to lead new NetEase studio

    It's been well documented that it's a rough time for the gaming industry, between widespread layoffs and several studio closures. But NetEase is bucking the trend to a degree. It's opening a new studio led by a former Call of Duty multiplayer designer.

    Kris Holt
    02.28.2024
  • A view shows Blizzard Entertainment's campus, after Microsoft Corp announced the purchase of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in the biggest gaming industry deal in history, in Irvine, California, U.S., January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

    China court documents incorrectly showed Activision was being sued by former partner NetEase

    Blizzard Entertainment is being sued by former Chinese publishing partner NetEase after servers shutdown in January when the two failed to reach a continuation agreement. NetEase is seeking ¥300 million Yuan (roughly $43.5 million) in damages, which the company says will be put toward issuing refunds for discontinued games and recouping investments from unsold merchandise inventory.

    Lawrence Bonk
    04.25.2023
  • Riot Games sues Chinese tech giant NetEase for making a 'copy' of Valorant

    Riot Games sues Chinese tech giant NetEase for allegedly copying 'Valorant'

    Riot Games has sued Chinese tech giant NetEase, calling its mobile game Hyper Front "a copy of substantial parts of Valorant.

    Steve Dent
    12.09.2022
  • Blizzard games like 'World of Warcraft' will go offline in China next year

    Blizzard games like 'World of Warcraft' will go offline in China next year

    Blizzard Entertainment will be suspending key games like World of Warcraft in China because it failed to reach an agreement with partner NetEase.

    Steve Dent
    11.17.2022
  • Visitors play ''World of Warcraft'' at an exhibition stand during the Gamescom 2011 fair in Cologne August 17, 2011. The Gamescom convention, Europe's largest video games trade fair, runs from August 17 to August 21. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY)

    Blizzard may have canceled a 'World of Warcraft' mobile spinoff (updated)

    Blizzard is said to have axed a 'World of Warcraft' spinoff mobile game despite working on it for three years.

    Jon Fingas
    08.04.2022
  • Diablo Immortal

    'Diablo Immortal' delayed indefinitely in China just before its planned release date

    Publisher NetEase may have run afoul of censors after a viral Weibo post that seemingly referenced President Xi Jinping.

    Kris Holt
    06.20.2022
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

    'Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night' will hit iOS and Android next month

    The mobile version of the action RPG arrives next month.

    Kris Holt
    11.06.2020
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

    'Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night' is coming to iOS and Android

    The mobile port of the Castlevania-inspired ARPG will include all console DLC.

    Kris Holt
    10.26.2020
  • SIPA USA/PA Images

    Amazon will close its Chinese platform for third-party sellers in July

    Amazon is pulling the plug on its e-commerce marketplace for third-party sellers in China. The decision follows a long struggle by American e-commerce companies in the country, who have fallen behind China's faster shopping rivals.

    Rachel England
    04.18.2019
  • Quantic Dream

    Chinese gaming giant grabs stake in 'Detroit' studio Quantic Dream

    China's NetEase may be struggling to get its games whitelisted in its native country, but that isn't stopping it from making waves in the wider gaming industry. The internet giant's gaming unit has acquired a minority stake in David Cage's studio Quantic Dream, best known for its cinematic PlayStation exclusives Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, both of which incorporate interactive storytelling techniques and motion capture technology. According to NetEase, Quantic Dream will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its co-CEOs Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière.

    Saqib Shah
    01.29.2019
  • Zhang Peng via Getty Images

    China expands its gaming whitelist with titles from Tencent and NetEase

    More than a month after China lifted its freeze on video games, it's finally given the all clear to a handful of titles from the country's two biggest publishers. Offerings from Tencent and NetEase are on the latest list of 95 government-approved games, according to the South China Morning Post. The video game blockade was introduced in March as the government began restructuring the country's gaming body amid renewed criticism of addiction and sexual and violent content.

    Saqib Shah
    01.28.2019
  • Bloomberg via Getty Images

    China's NetEase invests $100 million in Bungie to make new games

    Bungie, the studio behind hits like Halo, Myth and Destiny, has announced a new deal with Chinese online gaming company NetEase to "build new worlds and invite players, new and old, to join us there." In China NetEase publishes several Blizzard games like Overwatch, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft, among other titles. GamesIndustry reports that NetEase is making a $100 million investment in Bungie that will snag it a minority stake in the developer, but that apparently won't impact Bungie's agreement with Activision, and any decision to bring Destiny to China is still Activision's.

    Richard Lawler
    06.01.2018
  • Porsche/Google

    Android's official augmented reality toolkit is available to the public

    Google's take on a mobile augmented reality framework is no longer limited to a modestly-sized preview. It just released ARCore 1.0, letting anyone publish Android apps that take advantage of the toolkit to meld virtual objects with the real world. To no one's surprise, Google has already lined up apps from big-name brands to take advantage of the new platform. Snapchat has an AR "portal" that takes you inside FC Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium, while Porsche lets you explore the Mission E Concept as if it were parked in front of you. A number of games (such as Ghostbusters World and a range of titles from NetEase) and home furnishing apps (Sotheby's, JD.com, Easyhome and Otto) are also on tap.

    Jon Fingas
    02.23.2018
  • Reuters/Aly Song

    Google may lean on a partner to sell Android apps in China

    Google's presence in China is limited, to put it mildly, but it might have found a way to get its foot in the door. The Information sources claim that Chinese internet veteran NetEase is talking to Google about launching the Play Store in China. There's no guarantee that the talks will lead anywhere, but NetEase may be just the partner Google is looking for. Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt has previously explained that Google needed a business ally that could negotiate the intricacies of both Google and the Chinese government -- that's clearly the case here.

    Jon Fingas
    02.06.2017

  • Chinese MMO Revelation Online entering open beta January 15th

    Want to combine the free flight of Aion with action combat and an open skill progression system? That's a quick gloss of how testers report Revelation Online plays. But you don't have to take anyone else's word for it, as the game will be entering open beta on January 15th... in China. So you will have to muddle through not speaking the language of the game to test it. Alternately, you can start studying now and hope you have a natural gift for learning it in two months. Steparu reports that setting up an account will work even for international players, although there is the possibility that the game will require a cell phone or some other region-lock method. Players who don't want to fuss with that can rest somewhat easier knowing that the development team is looking into US publishing deals as well, but if all goes well, you can still try the game out early next year.

    Eliot Lefebvre
    11.24.2014

  • Blizzard wins lawsuit and shuts down Hearthstone clone

    Back in January we reported that Blizzard levied a lawsuit against Unico Interactive for its game, Legend of Crouching Dragon, which Blizzard claimed was a reskinned clone of Hearthstone. It looks as though the courts agreed, awarding Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase $1.6 million due to copyright infringement. Legend of Crouching Dragon has been removed from app stores, and Unico said that it will be reimbursing players for money spent on it to date. Even with the ruling, Unico remains defiant against "false stories" in the press and claims that it hasn't seen any official order to pay compensation to Blizzard.

    Justin Olivetti
    11.11.2014
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