Mat Hayward
NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) rose 3% in early trading Tuesday, among the top gainers in Communications stocks after reports swirled that the game company is set to re-partner with Blizzard Entertainment (MSFT) in China.
That would bring key PC gaming titles including World of Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch back to the Chinese market.
Reports and photos of CEO meetings are raising speculation that NetEase (NTES) could announce as soon as Wednesday that it’s bringing the games back to China.
Blizzard’s 14-year partnership with NetEase expired at the end of 2022, and the two companies couldn’t agree on new terms and eventually sued each other (later dropping those suits).
But talks about a deal resumed late last year, after Microsoft (MSFT) completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Other Southeast Asian gaming/Internet names were higher early Tuesday as well: Bilibili (BILI) +5.7%; Weibo (WB) +3.3%; IQiyi (IQ) +2.8%; Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) +2.2%; Hello Group (MOMO) +2.6%.