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Overwatch 2 Shuts Down In China

The failed agreement between Blizzard and NetEase leaves four OWL teams in limbo
by Tit Krajnik on January 24, 2023   

Overwatch 2, among other Blizzard Activision titles, have officially been shut down in China after Blizzard and NetEase failed to reach an agreement and didn’t extend their contract extensions. As a result, this led to Overwatch 2 shutting down in mainland China, leaving four Overwatch League teams in a rough spot.

 

The issue came to light on Monday, January 23, when Chengdu Hunters posted a Twitter post which read, “Goodbye and see you again”, confirming that Chengdu Hunters, among other Chinese Overwatch League teams, have found themselves in a rough spot.
Besides Chengdu Hunters, the recent development also affected Hangzhou Spark, Guangzhou Charge, Shanghai Dragons, and the Los Angeles Valiant, which operate from China.
 


The news, however, isn’t that shocking since Blizzard stated back in November that it would stop offering its games to China after a failed agreement with NetEase. Besides Overwatch 2, Blizzard also suspended its other titles, including Hearthstone, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Diablo III, and StarCarft II.

The situation will have an even more significant impact on the professional esports teams, including Overwatch League squads, who are left in a tough spot without access to the game. And it doesn’t help that the OWL has yet to announce when the 2023 OWL season will return, and it doesn’t seem like it’s coming back anytime soon, seeing how the OWL extended the free agency period multiple times already.

As it seems, the Overwatch League won’t be coming back for at least a couple more months, considering the teams have until March 13 to sign a minimum number of players. The date was initially set on January 16.

Now, the ban on Overwatch 2 in China delivered another blow to the league as it tries to find a solution which would allow Chinese players and organizations to compete in OWL’s sixth season. Meanwhile, Chinese OWL players can wait for Blizzard and NetEase to find a solution that would allow them to continue playing Overwatch and other Blizzard titles.

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