Both Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and NetEase.com, Inc. have come together so that they can license Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft II, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and Battle.net platform off to Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology Limited. Guess multiplayer gaming in China will soon take on a whole new life of its own, thanks to Blizzard’s solid base and slick programming which was built up over the years.

According to Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, “NetEase has been a leader in the Chinese game market, and we look forward to working with them to deliver high-quality entertainment to Chinese gamers. This partnership is a sign of our continued commitment to our players in China and to the local industry.” As for William Ding, CEO of NetEase, he mentioned, “We’re excited to be partnering with Blizzard Entertainment to bring StarCraft II and Battle.net to China. We hope to combine Blizzard Entertainment’s expertise in developing world-class games with NetEase’s strength in online-game operation in China to bring the best gaming experiences to our players.â€�

It will be interesting to see just how the Chinese gamers will fare on Battle.net – will they conquer all before them as how their athletes are currently doing at the summer Olympics, decimating most of their adversaries with a single-mindedness that is almost scary? Whatever the case is, now sounds like a good time to buy even more Blizzard stock since there are like, a billion plus people in China. With royalties being paid back via this 3-year license, this is but one huge cash cow (that gives significant value to its consumers too, of course).

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