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A new report claims that the ugly breakup between Activision Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase stemmed from a misunderstanding surrounding the Microsoft Activision deal. Apparently, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick felt “threatened” by a statement that he misinterpreted.
How NetEase got pulled into the Microsoft Activision deal fiasco
According to The New York Times (via Eurogamer), Kotick was in a Zoom meeting with NetEase boss Ding Lei when the latter suggested through a translator that the Microsoft Activision deal may face hurdles in China with the current state of Activision NetEase partnership.
Kotick reportedly felt “threatened” by Lei bringing the topic up, and somehow ended up believing that Lei was suggesting that he would be able to influence the Chinese government’s decision about the deal.
Perhaps, Lei’s comments were lost in translation but it’s unclear why Kotick felt threatened by the mere mention of the merger. In the end, he decided not to extend Activision Blizzard’s contract with NetEase – a decision made in haste that ultimately resulted in all of Blizzard Entertainment games going dark for millions of players in China.
NetEase was understandably infuriated by Kotick’s move, and refused to entertain Activision’s request for a temporary extension of contract to keep Blizzard games online.