HONG KONG, April 10 (Reuters) - Chinese video games

giant NetEase ( NTES ) said it is working with Microsoft ( MSFT )

to bring popular games including "World of Warcraft"

back to the country after a public fallout that ended a

decade-long partnership in 2023.

The two companies said in press release on Wednesday that

they are working to bring games developed by Blizzard

Entertainment, a subsidiary of U.S. gaming giant Activision

Blizzard which Microsoft ( MSFT ) acquired last year, back to the world's

second-largest economy, starting this summer. NetEase ( NTES ) was the

publisher of Blizzard's games in China from 2008 to 2023.

"We at Blizzard are thrilled to reestablish our partnership

with NetEase ( NTES ) and to work together, with deep appreciation for

the collaboration between our teams, to deliver legendary gaming

experiences to players in China," said Johanna Faries, president

of Blizzard Entertainment.

Additionally, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and NetEase ( NTES ) said they have also

entered into an agreement to explore bringing new NetEase ( NTES ) titles

to Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Xbox gaming consoles and its other gaming

platforms.

A number of popular online games developed by Blizzard were

taken offline in China last year after the company terminated

its lucrative, 14-year-long partnership with NetEase ( NTES ), citing

disagreement over intellectual property control.

The incident escalated into an open feud that saw the two

companies sue each other. Tension eased after Microsoft ( MSFT ) acquired

Activision Blizzard in October, which was followed by changes to

the latter's management.

Local Chinese media reported late last year that NetEase ( NTES ) and

Microsoft ( MSFT ) were seeking ways to bury the hatchet and re-launch

the games in China.

The exit of Blizzard games was closely watched because

Blizzard's games were highly popular in China. Chinese media

said "World of Warcraft" alone had five million Chinese gamers

in 2009 after NetEase ( NTES ) became the publisher.

The press release on Wednesday showed the renewed publishing

agreement covers Blizzard's flagship games "World of Warcraft"

and "Hearthstone" as well as other titles in the "Warcraft",

"Overwatch", "Diablo" and "StarCraft" franchises.

The earlier breakup sparked outcry with millions of Chinese

netizens complaining online that they would lose access to their

favourite games.

In February 2023, before the games were taken offline, over

a million of Chinese gamers requested refunds for unspent

services in Blizzard's games, NetEase ( NTES ) customer service said at

the time.

Netease ( NTES ) is China's second-largest video games company by

revenue after Tencent ( TCTZF ).