Employees Who Worked On Blizzard Games Laid Off By NetEase After Blizzard Partnership Ends

Following the end of Blizzard and NetEase’s 14-year partnership, the NetEase team that handled Blizzard's games in China is now being laid off.

While some employees are being absorbed into other roles and departments within the company, the majority of the staff that were part of the Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology group are being let go. Only a small number of 10 team members are said to be staying behind to handle the logistics surrounding the suspension of various games like Diablo III, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft, Overwatch 2, and World of Warcraft. Diablo Immortal, however, due to its co-development by Blizzard and NetEase, has been left unaffected by the partnership’s end and will continue to be played in China.

Following these changes, Chinese players who have sunk countless hours into Blizzard’s WoW will be able to download their characters before shutdown, saving their items and progress in Azeroth.