Logos of NetEase and Blizzard Photo: VCG

US-based game developer Blizzard Entertainment has sparked criticism among players and netizens in China after the company recently barred gamers from Chinese mainland from participating in one of its challenge activities. 

The company's collapsing reputation will cast a shadow over its future businesses in the market, gamers and analysts said on Tuesday.

"Suspending operations in one country or region is not news, but singling out gamers from one region and banning them from playing is categorically a different story," a netizen wrote on social media platform Weibo.

"It is either a lack of EQ or intentionally being discriminatory against Chinese mainland gamers," Liu Dingding, an independent tech analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

After making a fortune in the market, now it is the way Blizzard mistreating Chinese mainland players, Liu said, noting that it will undoubtedly impact the way the brand is perceived by the gamers. 

Blizzard announced a commemorative activity for its multiplayer-only action role-playing game Diablo IV on June 21. Players from Russia, Belarus, Cuba and some other countries and regions are not allowed to participate as they are "restricted by law", the company said.

Besides players from the so-called "law-prohibited" areas, the company singled out gamers from the Chinese mainland, saying that participants cannot be Chinese residents, except for those from Hong Kong, Macao and the island of Taiwan.

In fact, this is not the first time Blizzard has put in place barriers for Chinese mainland players. Professional gamers from Chinese mainland were not allowed to participate in an electronic sports game held by the company in January 2023, according to Chinese news site cnr.cn.

"The company has been arrogant [in the market], and losing Chinese market is not a wise choice, especially when the company is currently involved in an acquisition deal with Microsoft," an industry insider who preferred to be anonymous told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Microsoft announced a plan to acquire Activision Blizzard, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment, in January 2022 in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion. However, the deal continues to be scrutinized by regulators in the US, the EU and the UK.

After the "break up" with its Chinese partner Netease in January, Blizzard Entertainment has been unlucky finding new partners in the market. Most Blizzard games had gone offline in the market since then.

Some requests by Blizzard Entertainment in renewing its license contract are "unacceptable," as it involves critical cooperation agreement concerning sustainable operation and the core interests of Chinese players and the market, Netease CEO William Ding Lei said during a conference call in November 2022, in response to the ending of the two gaming giants' 14-year licensing agreement.

Global Times