2 Million Register for World of Warcraft's China Relaunch

Key Takeaways

• Blizzard's games went dark in mainland China on January 24, 2023 when its 14-year licensing deal with NetEase expired, cutting off millions of players.
• NetEase and Blizzard announced a renewed partnership on April 9, 2024, brokered with Microsoft, to bring World of Warcraft and other titles back to China.
• Over 2,000,000 players pre-registered within two days of the announcement, an early sign of how much demand had built up during the blackout.
• Blizzard China reported roughly 146,990 reactivated accounts, 92,021 recovered accounts, and more than 1,000 job applications alongside the pre-registrations.
• Players submitted 953,915 messages to be built into a new Gorehowl statue marking the return, a replacement for the one taken down after the 2023 split.
• The relaunch went through: Blizzard titles returned to China in the summer of 2024, and World of Warcraft: The War Within launched globally on August 26, 2024.

The numbers came from Blizzard China's own reporting and read like a homecoming, so here is what actually happened, in order, and how the return played out.

Why the Servers Went Dark in 2023

World of Warcraft had run in mainland China for roughly 14 years under a licensing deal with NetEase. That arrangement ended when the agreements expired on January 23, 2023, and most Blizzard game services in China went offline at midnight on January 24. Overnight, players lost access to characters, guilds, and progress they had built for over a decade. Many rerolled on Taiwanese or other regional servers to keep playing, but a large share simply waited, hoping their original accounts would come back one day.

The April 2024 Renewal With NetEase

The wait ended in the spring of 2024. On April 9, NetEase and Blizzard announced a renewed publishing partnership, a deal reported to have been brokered with Microsoft after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The renewed agreement covered World of Warcraft and Hearthstone, with other Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft titles set to follow. The companies said the games would return over the summer of 2024 once services were rebuilt and technical work was done, and they did not commit to an exact date at announcement.

Two Million Sign-Ups in Two Days

The response was immediate. Within two days, over two million players had pre-registered for the returning servers. Blizzard China's figures, first posted to the official WoW China Weibo and translated by community trackers, put the reactivated accounts at 146,990 and the recovered accounts at 92,021. On top of that, the venture received more than 1,000 job applications from people wanting to work on the relaunch. The reactivation and recovery counts were the telling part, since they showed players returning to their original characters rather than starting fresh.

Why the Return Mattered So Much in China

World of Warcraft has long had a huge following in China. The scale showed up again later that year, when Warcraft Logs recorded around 11 million Ulduar characters in China's Wrath of the Lich King Classic servers. Numbers like that explain why 146,990 people rushed to reactivate the moment they could. The 14-year run that ended in 2023 was not a side market for Blizzard; it was a core part of the game's global player base, and NetEase leaned into that history by promising ways to re-earn rewards players had missed during the Dragonflight expansion while the servers were down.

The Gorehowl Statue and the Actual Return

The most human detail was the statue. After the 2023 split, the orc statue holding Gorehowl outside Blizzard's Chinese offices was taken down. To mark the return, NetEase invited players to submit messages that would be built into a new Gorehowl statue, and 953,915 of them poured in. The relaunch itself followed through on the announcement: Blizzard's games came back to mainland China over the summer of 2024, and the wider franchise rolled straight into its next chapter when World of Warcraft: The War Within launched on August 26, 2024. The homecoming players had waited more than a year for finally arrived.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did World of Warcraft leave China?

Blizzard's game services in mainland China went offline on January 24, 2023, after the licensing agreements with NetEase expired on January 23. The partnership had lasted about 14 years, and the shutdown cut off access to characters and progress for a large Chinese player base.

When was the NetEase partnership renewed?

NetEase and Blizzard announced their renewed partnership on April 9, 2024. The deal was reported to have been brokered with Microsoft following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and it covered World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and other Blizzard titles, with a planned return over the summer of 2024.

How many players signed up for the return?

More than 2,000,000 players pre-registered within two days of the announcement. Blizzard China also reported 146,990 reactivated accounts, 92,021 recovered accounts, and over 1,000 job applications, figures first shared on the official WoW China Weibo.

What was the Gorehowl statue about?

The orc statue holding Gorehowl outside Blizzard's Chinese offices was removed after the 2023 shutdown. NetEase marked the game's return by inviting players to submit messages for a new Gorehowl statue, and 953,915 messages were collected to be built into it.

Did World of Warcraft actually return to China?

Yes. Blizzard's games came back to mainland China over the summer of 2024, closing the gap that opened with the January 2023 shutdown. World of Warcraft then moved into its next expansion, The War Within, which launched globally on August 26, 2024.

Were Dragonflight rewards recoverable for returning players?

NetEase said returning players would get ways to re-earn rewards they missed from the Dragonflight expansion while the Chinese servers were offline. That pitch was part of the draw for players deciding whether to reactivate their original accounts rather than stay on other regions.

Last reviewed 2026-07-03 against Blizzard's April 2024 China relaunch reporting — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.