Blizzard Entertainment has announced that it is discontinuing most of the company's gaming services in China due to the expiration of its license with NetEase.

The games that will be discontinued include World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the StarCraft series, Diablo 3, and Heroes of the Storm. The joint development and publishing of Diablo Immortal was covered by a joint agreement between the two companies.

In early 2008, Blizzard Entertainment entered into a licensing agreement with Chinese company NetEase in order to release original Blizzard titles in China, in order to comply with the laws and regulations of that giant market.

New sales will be phased out over the next few days. Chinese players will receive details on how to proceed very soon. Upcoming releases and additions will include World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Hearthstone: March of the Lich King, and the second season of Overwatch 2, which is set to launch later this year.

About this said the head of Blizzard Entertainment Mike Ybarra:

We are grateful for the passion our Chinese community has shown for nearly 20 years in bringing our games to China through NetEase and implementation partners.

Your enthusiasm and creativity inspire us to look for ways to bring our games to players in the future.

The statement also indicated that the non-renewal of these licenses leads to issues beyond the control of the publisher and developer of the aforementioned titles.