The reason is that developers Blizzard did not agree with local partner Netease on an extended agreement to have the game running in China - something that all non-Chinese companies must have.
"World of Warcraft" had its heyday in the mid and late 00's but has continued to enthrall players worldwide ever since the original version was released in 2004.
Blizzard announces that they are in negotiations with other companies to continue to keep the servers up in the future.
However, not everyone sees the shutdown as something negative.
Wu, a 30-year-old medical student spoken to by the AFP news agency who says he plays "Wow" three hours a day, says:
- I haven't spent enough time with my wife.
Now that "World of Warcraft" is gone, I want to make it up to her.