Sino-Singapore Jingwei, January 20 (Sun Qingyang) On the 17th, Blizzard issued a statement stating that the cooperation with NetEase will expire in January 2023 and will not be renewed. The relevant games will officially suspend services in January 2023.

Since Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" entered the Chinese market in 2005, Blizzard has established a decisive influence in the Chinese online game market and has become a symbol of the times.

What is the crux of NetEase Blizzard's "breakup"?

　　On November 17, 2022, NetEase released its financial report showing that the revenue in the first three quarters was 71.142 billion yuan, the net profit attributable to the parent was 16.385 billion yuan, and the net income in the third quarter was 24.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%.

Net revenue from games and related value-added services was 18.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.1%.

NetEase did not separately disclose the impact of Blizzard game agency on its operating income and net profit in its public report.

However, NetEase responded in its financial report that the game represented by Blizzard will contribute a low single digit percentage to NetEase’s revenue and net profit in 2021 and the first nine months of 2022.

Therefore, in the face of Blizzard's two high-priced renewal conditions, advance payment of the annual payment and other requirements that touched NetEase's bottom line, NetEase and Blizzard eventually parted ways.

　　According to Bloomberg News, a person familiar with the matter revealed that, in addition to financial terms, the key sticking point in the termination of cooperation between Blizzard and NetEase is also trying to compete for "ownership of intellectual property rights" and "control over the data of millions of players across China."

　　Jiang Han, a senior researcher at the Pangoal Institute, believes that the "breakup" incident shows that some self-righteous so-called international game giants do not take Chinese game companies seriously, but in fact the Chinese market has awakened independently, and Chinese game players and game companies are gradually Recognize your worth.

"Blizzard must bear the corresponding price."

　　According to Li Xin, an expert in game AI technology, since the "China National Online Game Publishing Project" and other policies to support the development of domestic online games in 2004, the development of online games in China has entered a golden age.

From terminal games to mobile games, Chinese game companies are moving faster around the world.

　　Jiang Han also said that, in fact, the take-off of China's economy and this "breakup" are very important to the entire international game market.

This allows game industry companies to thoroughly understand the bottom line of the Chinese market.

"The current market urgently needs to explore a more reasonable profit sharing ratio. No matter what company comes to the Chinese market, it should be clear that it cannot arbitrarily 'take whatever it wants'."

Who will take over Blizzard's domestic copyright?

　　"Blizzard has not left enough time and capital costs for new agents, and it is difficult to find another one in the short term." Li Xin said that Blizzard's peak moment has passed, and Microsoft also revealed its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard.

With the decline of game research and development capabilities and the difficulty of producing blockbuster models, Blizzard wants both control and more revenue, and also wants to find a strong agent. In fact, "you can't have both."

　　Jiang Han believes that Blizzard's announcement originally intended to use the pressure of public opinion to force NetEase to submit. Unexpectedly, due to the overall expression of the announcement, players discovered the problems in it, and Blizzard fell into the pressure of public opinion.

From the beginning to the present, Blizzard has been tough on the entire market and has not considered the rights and interests of Chinese players at all.

　　"Currently, for Blizzard, after several months of searching, they have not found a suitable successor. Because for game agents, it takes a lot of effort from the game company to be able to represent Blizzard's games well. A large number of promotions, including publicity and distribution, must have considerable strength." Jiang Han said.

　　On the whole, the occasional withdrawal of foreign game companies has left soil and gaps for the growth and globalization of the domestic game industry.

The future of domestic games has come

　　On the evening of the 17th, the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration announced the approval information for domestic online games in January 2023.

In this approval, a total of 88 domestic online games successfully obtained the version number.

Since 2022, the issuance of game version numbers has gradually become normalized, and the number of approvals has also gradually expanded.

　　According to the 2022 Chinese game industry data recently released by the China Music and Digital Association Game Working Committee, the actual sales revenue of self-developed games in the domestic market is 222.377 billion yuan, and the actual sales revenue of self-developed games in overseas markets is 17.346 billion US dollars; the actual sales revenue of China’s mobile game market is 193.058 billion yuan. The actual sales revenue of the Chinese client game market was 61.373 billion yuan, and the actual sales revenue of the Chinese web game market was 5.28 billion yuan.

　　"In recent years, especially the rise of Mihayou's "Yuan Shen", it actually means that the games produced by China have already gained a place in the market, and even have strong market competitiveness. This is not easy. .For Chinese game manufacturers, what they need most is to have their own games and research and development capabilities, so that they can occupy more markets in the international competition." Jiang Han said.

　　Li Xin believes that as the approval of the game version number returns to normal, and at the same time under the background of game consumption restoration, vast space for going overseas, and the combination of virtual and real digital bases, domestic games need to rely on competition mechanisms such as competition for quality, innovation, and quality.

With the continuous upgrading of the quality of online games, innovative games will become more attractive.

This means that small and medium-sized merchants who lack capital, technology and marketing capabilities are not without the opportunity to make a hit.

In 2023, the key points of domestic games lie in the core competitiveness of products, content quality, and cultural elements. Adhering to high-quality content for games and reducing game addiction strategies, strengthening the protection of minors, and encouraging overseas development will become the long-term development path of the game industry in the future .

(Sino-Singapore Jingwei APP)

This article was originally created by Sino-Singapore Jingwei Research Institute, and Sino-Singapore Jingwei is copyrighted. Without written authorization, no unit or individual may reprint, extract or use it in other ways.