Netease holds on WOW 2nd expansion pack, WOW resumption unforeseeable
June 16, 2009 – 11:29 pmPosted by: sisilia
Netease (NTES.NASDAQ) became the operator of World of Warcraft (WOW) to replace The9 (NTCY.NASDAQ) upon acquiring the license, but the company still hasn’t applied for the approval of a second expansion pack for the game, confirmed Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press and Publication late Monday.
Netease’s standstill on the expansion pack, The Wrath of the Lich King, signals that WOW may not be made available for online gamers in any clear timeframe, noted market watchers.
It’s been learned that WOW’s second extension pack was installed and hosted on servers November 18 in the province of Taiwan, where it absorbed a healthy amount of gamers.
Considering how well the second expansion pack performed, the standstill of official examination and approval may directly dampen Netease’s WOW profitability, analysts said.
But Netease insiders disclosed that the package will pass ratification in the near term.
WOW is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by U.S. game runner Blizzard. Netease gained authorization to operate the game in China’s Mainland in June.
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