Heroes of the Storm Coming To Mainland China

[keithlewis]

Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase to Bring Heroes of the Storm to Mainland China


Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and NetEase, Inc. today announced an agreement to license Blizzard Entertainment's Heroes of the Storm to a NetEase, Inc. affiliate in mainland China for a term of three years.

Unveiled last November at BlizzCon, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard's upcoming free-to-play, online team brawler featuring iconic heroes from more than 20 years of Blizzard gaming history. Gamers will be able to play some of their favorite characters from the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes, and team up with friends to battle other teams online. Heroes of the Storm features a variety of battlegrounds with multiple objectives that affect strategy in unique ways. In addition, players will be able to customize their heroes with a variety of skins, as well as special mounts that help them cover ground on the battlefield more quickly.

Heroes of the Storm will be the fourth Blizzard game brought to China by both companies since 2008. Currently, Blizzard and NetEase collaborate to bring World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and the Battle.net gaming platform to millions of Chinese gamers. Today's announcement further strengthens the partnership between Blizzard and NetEase, and reinforces both companies' commitment to providing epic game experiences and top-quality service for all Blizzard gamers in mainland China.

"Heroes of the Storm offers our unique spin on a popular online game genre, with iconic Blizzard heroes and multiple unique battlegrounds that affect strategy and gameplay," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're pleased to expand our partnership with NetEase to bring this game to Chinese players."

"We are very excited to be presenting another hotly-anticipated Blizzard game to Chinese players," said William Ding, CEO and founder of NetEase, Inc. He added, "We believe Chinese gamers will enjoy the amazing content and quality of Heroes of the Storm and its focus on team battles. We're working closely with Blizzard to prepare everything needed for launching Heroes of the Storm in China, and we look forward to providing players with the best possible service."

The official website in China for Heroes of the Storm (www.heroesofthestorm.com.cn) is now live. Registration for Heroes of the Storm closed beta testing is now available for Chinese gamers via the website. Details on closed beta testing, including the start date, will be announced later.

To learn more about the Heroes of the Storm, please visit the Chinese official website: www.heroesofthestorm.com.cn. Further details about the game will be announced as development progresses.