Blizzard Prepares for World of Warcraft's Re-Release in China with Technical Test

Blizzard Entertainment has announced an upcoming technical test for its renowned online game, World of Warcraft, as part of its preparations for the highly anticipated re-release in China. The test will commence on June 11, allowing players to experience World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, originally launched in 2008. According to Blizzard's World of Warcraft Weibo account, the game will be made available to players later this month.

Blizzard clarified that the technical test will be open to all players and will not affect their game time or accounts. However, all test characters will be deleted after the trial period. The decision to release Wrath of the Lich King before the official World of Warcraft is due to the shorter preparation time required for the former. Blizzard assured players that World of Warcraft will return online once all technical preparations are complete.

Some Chinese netizens expressed concerns, labeling the test as a form of "hunger marketing" due to the lack of clarity regarding the actual schedule for the re-release of World of Warcraft. The game was removed from China last year following a dispute between Blizzard and its local partner, NetEase.

Following Microsoft's acquisition of parent company Activision Blizzard for USD 69 billion, plans were set in motion to reintroduce World of Warcraft and other popular Blizzard games to the Chinese market. However, Blizzard, Microsoft Gaming, and NetEase have only revealed that the games will gradually return to the Chinese mainland market from this summer, based on updated game distribution agreements.