WoW still down in China

Operator handover blamed for problems

Activision Blizzard aren't too popular in China at the moment with WoW subscribers still unable to play the game a month after problems first arose.

The operator switch that should have moved the game from The9 to NetEase took place on June 7th however a statement by the new operators says "We have met with some factors which are out of our control [and] the servers' reopening will be delayed. To make matters worse there's no promise of an imminent resolution to the problem as the statement goes on to add As of now, we don't have a specific reopening timeframe."

Operator changeovers in China can often to be troublesome affairs as the government require all launches, or re launches in this case, of services like MMORPGs to go through an approval process to gain an official licence.

The continuing downtime is sure to be a concern for Activision Blizzard since almost half the worlds WoW players are believed to be Chinese subscribers. However, the 301.5 million USD NetEase have paid for the new contract will no doubt help to offset any losses.

By Paul Newcombe