Millions of Gamers in China Can’t Play Popular Game
Listen to the story (South African accent)
Millions of gamers in China who play World of Warcraft (WoW) must say goodbye to the popular game. World of Warcraft will go offline in China because of a disagreement between the US video game developer Blizzard and their partner in China, NetEase.
World of Warcraft is extremely popular around the world, especially in the 2000s. It’s an online multiplayer game that is set in a fantasy medieval world. The game is famous for being addictive. Many gamers play the game for hundreds of hours.
Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has been available in China since 2008. Chinese law requires foreign companies to partner with local companies in order to enter the Chinese market. Because of that rule, Blizzard partnered with Chinese company NetEase.
In November last year, the two companies announced that they could not come to an agreement when renewing their contract together. Because of that, WoW’s servers in China went offline on Tuesday. The partnership between Blizzard and NetEase lasted 14 years.
Other games from Blizzard, like Overwatch and Diablo III will also go offline in China.
Blizzard China says it requested a six-month contract extension, but NetEase refused. Blizzard also says it is looking for a new partner in China, so Chinese gamers can continue playing the popular games.
One WoW gamer is looking at the positive side of this story. He says that he didn’t spend time with his wife because of the game. Now that he can’t play, he will focus on his wife.
Vocabulary24 words
- Gamer
- A person who plays video games
- Popular
- Liked by many people
- Go offline
- stop working or no longer available on the internet
- Disagreement
- a situation in which people have different opinions, or an inability to agree
- Game developer
- a person or company that creates video games
- Extremely
- very; so
- Especially
- to show that something is greater or more important than other things; particularly; notably; specifically; for the most part
- Multiplayer
- a game that can be played by more than one person at the same time; a game that can be played with many people at the same time
- Set in
- located in a particular place or environment; to happen in a certain place (That story is set in New York City)
- Medieval
- relating to the Middle Ages, a period of European history between the 5th and 15th centuries
- Addictive
- so enjoyable that you do it often; to make someone unable to stop doing or using something
- Require
- make necessary; to order or demand something
- Partner
- to join/work with another person or organization in a business activity
- Local
- related to or connected to a specific/particular place; existing in or belonging to the area that you are talking about.
- Market
- the field/area/place of trade or business; the buying/selling of a specific product or service; a category of potential buyers
- Announce
- share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
- Come to an agreement
- to agree; to find a solution that pleases or suits everyone;
- Renew
- to increase the period of time that something can be used or is in effect; to replace something old
- Server
- a large computer that controls other computers or shares information with many computers in a network
- Partnership
- to have an agreement to work together; to be partners
- Request
- to ask for something
- Extension
- a period of time added to something; extra time
- Refuse
- to say or show that you will not do something or that you do not want something
- spend time
- use your time for something; dedicate your time to something;
Discussion questions
- How does the Chinese government's rules for foreign companies entering the market affect partnerships like the one between Blizzard and NetEase?
- How do you think the loss of World of Warcraft in China will affect the gaming industry in China?
- Do you think video game addiction is a real problem? Can you give any examples?
More Business stories
Next story · Medium
Company Removes CO2 from Air, Puts It Underground