World of Warcraft Effectively Shut Down in China
- Scribbled on November 4th, 2009 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, Legal Brief, MMO, PC, WTF
Reuters is reporting that the Chinese regulatory committee General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has ordered local network company NetEase to halt charging subscriber rates and new user registration for mega-popular MMO World of Warcraft, which has sent both NetEase and Activision Blizzard’s stock plummeting.
The move put the recently-relaunched popular title’s future into question in China, and sent NetEase and Activision Blizzard shares down 2.4 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Observers said GAPP’s move was the result of a recent turf war between the agency and the Ministry of Culture, which also oversees the online gaming sector.
This comes on the heels of China demanding users who play female characters prove via webcam they are actually female, banning males from playing females.
Leave a Comment (NOTE: Comments are moderated)