Blizzard, meanwhile, said it had asked NetEase to extend the partnership between the two companies for additional six months.
Chinese publisher NetEase has reportedly started disbanding the team responsible for managing Blizzard titles in China, following the termination of the partnership between the two companies.
As reported by the South China Morning Post which cites people familiar with the matter, the majority of staff in the department have either been let go or reassigned to other departments within the company.
The Chinese operations for Blizzard games were managed by a subsidiary of NetEase, Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology. According to sources, only around 10 team members are now remaining to take care of logistics related to the suspension of Blizzard games, but these members are expected to stay for no longer than six months.
At its peak, the team had no more than 100 people, many of whom left after the initial announcement of the end of the NetEase and Blizzard partnership in November, with some technical staff being transferred to other teams in Shanghai.
Shortly after the reports that NetEase has already begun disbanding the team in charge of handling Blizzard games in China, Blizzard revealed that it had asked NetEase to delay the termination of the long-running partnership.
According to a new Reuters report, Blizzard China has posted a statement on the microblogging site Weibo where it stated that it had contacted NetEase with a proposal to extend the 14-year publishing partnership for additional six months, however, the Chinese gaming giant turned down this proposal.
As a result, the partnership will end on January 23 as planned, leading to the removal of seven Blizzard titles in China, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm.
Blizzard previously stated that it is currently in talks with different potential partners in China who would help bring its titles back to the county, however, the South China Morning Post's sources said that it is unlikely for an agreement to be reached by January 23.
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