Players are split on what the area’s future holds after months of fruitful negotiations with the organized NetEase. Blizzard shuts down all Overwatch 2 servers in China, officially.
Millions of Overwatch players in China lost access to the game at around midnight in Beijing as Blizzard shut down all Chinese servers. Blizzard’s online multiplayer games have been removed from China as their licensing arrangement ends after months of fruitless negotiations with the country’s publisher, NetEase. This applies to other Blizzard games, including Starcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft.
The Twitter account of the Overwatch League team Chengdu Hunters posted, “Goodbye and met you again.” They stated plainly, “Overwatch 2 has been discontinued in mainland China.”
A Redditor commented in a thread regarding the shutdown, “So about those like 4 Chinese teams…”
Future of Chinese Overwatch Teams in Doubt Following Server Shutdown
Four Chinese teams are now competing in the Overwatch League, and many players are worried about how groups like Chengdu Hunters or Guangzhou Charge. Which have a sizeable Chinese player roster, would function. Or even how NetEase’s Shanghai Dragons, a Chinese organization with South Korean players, will work.
What happens to the skins that Chinese players purchased was another topic of discussion in the same post. Few people have predicted Blizzard will refund players, but the business has not made such announcements. Blizzard hasn’t said anything about the shutdowns or what would happen to the accounts and purchases of Chinese users.
Blizzard is experiencing troubles that won’t stop, therefore the shutdown. From OWL teams suing the firm to fans dissatisfied with the general lack of content and adjustments to the game’s ranking system. The company has been embroiled in continuing acquisition disputes with Microsoft.
A Redditor made fun of the fact that “Overwatch 2 is so horrible in China they decided to ban it and re-create Overwatch 1 again.” That is not surprising, considering that many of the first Overwatch gamers weren’t convinced of the similarities between the two games.
Another Redditor remarked, “If a Chinese business makes a counterfeit version to fill the void, I hope it plays more like Overwatch 1.” Another chimed in, referring to Overwatch’s principal rival in the hero shooter scene, “So Paladins.”
Others have noted that the suspension occurred immediately following China’s Lunar New Year celebrations. Additionally coming off a disappointing Chinese New Year celebration. Overwatch was officially shut down in China, as Overwatch YouTuber Bro You Wack Blunt tweeted. Also, happy Lunar New Year.
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