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Source: WoW to Cost NetEase $565M
An anonymous source told DoNews that NetEase (Nasdaq:NTES) will pay Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq:ATVI), at least $565 million in royalties and fees for the three-year license of Blizzard MMORPG World of Warcraft. The breakdown includes a $25 million licensing fee and minimum annual revenue shares of $180 million, said the source.
The Ministry of Culture (MOC) posted regulations on its official site on April 27 saying that it revokes authorization codes for imported online game products that change operators or whose imports are suspended. New operators and operators that add new content must reapply for MOC permits, said the site. An unnamed industry insider said the announcement means that NetEase may need to reapply to MOC for authorization codes for both WoW and its second expansion, "Wrath of the Lich King" (WLK), reports Sohu.
NetEase and Blizzard announced earlier this month that NetEase would take over WoW's license for a three-year term when the current agreement, between Blizzard and The9 (Nasdaq:NCTY), expires in June.
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