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Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase, Inc. to Bring Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft to Mainland China

Exciting news for our friends in China. It looks like you won't be missing out on the Hearthstone action!

Originally posted by Blizzard (Official Press Release)

Deceptively simple, insanely fun free-to-play strategy card game from the creators of Warcraft® coming to PC and iPad®

SHANGHAI, CHINA—July 8, 2013—Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and NetEase, Inc. today announced an agreement to license Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone™: Heroes of Warcraft™ to a NetEase, Inc. affiliate in mainland China for a term of three years.

The companies have been collaborating since 2008 to bring Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, StarCraft® II, and Battle.net® gaming platform to Chinese gamers. Today’s announcement further enhances the partnership between Blizzard and NetEase and promotes a consistent level of quality and service in mainland China for all Blizzard games involved in the partnership.

Announced in March, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is Blizzard’s new free-to-play strategy card game for Windows®, Macintosh®, and iPad®. In Hearthstone, players take on the role of legendary heroes from the Warcraft universe, playing spells and minions from customized card decks. Matches are fast-paced and friendly, with players dueling for fun, glory, and the chance to win awesome new cards.

"Hearthstone represents everything we love about games—it’s easy to pick up and play, it has a lot of personality and depth, and it’s just pure fun," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We’re putting a lot of focus into delivering a Blizzard-quality free-to-play experience withHearthstone, and we know gamers in China will have a blast playing it."

"We are very excited to be bringing a new game to China from Blizzard, and we believe Hearthstone will be a hit with gamers here," said William Ding, CEO and founder of NetEase Inc. "We’re working closely with Blizzard to prepare everything needed for launching Hearthstone in China, and we look forward to providing players with another great gaming experience."

Deceptively simple but epically engaging, Hearthstone will be instantly accessible to players regardless of their familiarity with Warcraft or collectible card games. Anyone who picks up the game will be able to jump right in and start winning cards and building their collection. For players who prefer to expand their collection a little faster, card packs can be purchased via an in-game store.

With hundreds of cards to choose from, featuring a wide range of colorful Warcraft spells, weapons, and characters, players will have limitless possibilities for developing and fine-tuning their deck-building strategies. Further details about Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will be announced as development progresses.

About Blizzard Entertainment

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, andDiablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes sixteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

About NetEase, Inc.

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) is a leading Internet technology company in China. Dedicated to providing online services centered around content, community, communication and commerce, NetEase develops and operates some of China's most popular online games, e-mail services, advertising services and web portals. In partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, NetEase also operates one of the most popular international online games in China, World of Warcraft® andStarCraft® II.

Client Localizations

A few days ago, we previewed some multilingual voiceovers from the announcer. So what languages is Hearthstone going to be available in anyways? If the client is a correct indication of where the team would like to go, you can expect to see Hearthstone popup in the following languages.

If You Could Make a Card..

A popular topic on our forums asks: If you could develop a card, which warcraft/world of warcraft char/spell would it be? Head on over to the discussion and let the community know which kind of card you'd create. Feel free to include artwork, flavor text, or go the extra mile and edit yourself a card! Get creative!