NetEase delays the relaunch of World of Warcraft
MMO still unavailable to play in China as NetEase fails to get its servers up and running in time
After winning the rights to operate World of Warcraft from The9 back in April, China's number two games operator, NetEase, has failed to get its servers up and running resulting in gamers being unable to access the MMO.
The China relaunch was expected to happen at the end of June, reports Reuters, when The9's contract with Blizzard expired and the publisher shut down its own servers. But according to a statement appearing on its website, NetEase has experienced factors out of its control which have delayed the game.
"We have met with some factors which are out of our control, the servers reopening will be delayed," the statement reads. "As of now, we don't have a specific reopening time frame."
In a SEC filing, NetEase said the relaunch is subject to the receipt of necessary governmental approvals. It goes on to state that if the relaunch is significantly delayed, the game's popularity and profitability may be adversely affected.