NetEase: WoW operation in China not illegal

Could Blizzard‘s world-famous World of Warcraft be deemed illegal in China? Reports have surfaced earlier saying that Blizzard and NetEase are being investigated for allegedly conspiring to break China’s gaming rules.

 Could Blizzard‘s world-famous World of Warcraft be deemed illegal in China? Reports have surfaced earlier saying that Blizzard and NetEase are being investigated for allegedly conspiring to break China’s gaming rules.

The two companies entered into a joint venture back in 2008 to support the games StarCraft II, Warcraft III and Battle.net. The problem, however, was that the law in China purportedly expressly prohibits the domestic operation of online games like WoW by a foreign company via joint ventures. NetEase assumed operations of WoW just last June, but has yet to put back the game online.

New reports are circulating now, however, clearing the said issue. A NetEase chief was said to have been quoted as saying that this report on WoW‘s being illegal in China is “seriously inaccurate.”

The unnamed chief said, “The content of this report is seriously inaccurate and its main points and language are inconsistent with the truth.”

While it sure must be comforting for Chinese gamers to know that WoW is not “illegal” in their country, this provides little relief as there’s still no word on when exactly the game will be operational.

• World of Warcraft still offline in China, operator NetEase roadblocked
• Gold Farming now officially banned in China
  

Via JLM