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U.S. games developer Blizzard Entertainment and China’s NetEase said that licenses covering the Chinese distribution of games titles including “World of Warcraft,” the “StarCraft” series, “Hearthstone,” “Heroes of the Storm,” “Overwatch” and “Diablo III” would expire in January 2023 and not be renewed. Netease has distributed the titles since 2008. Blizzard said that the two could not reach a deal “that is consistent with Blizzard’s …

Note: This article is based on content from Variety Intelligence Platform’s special report “2023 Media & Tech Trend Tracker,” available exclusively to subscribers. Sony Interactive Entertainment in February announced PlayStation Playmakers, a new initiative to partner with names like LeBron James on promoting the console brand. For anyone else in gaming, this move would come across as a plea for …

FoxNext Games has acquired game developer Cold Iron Studios, which specializes in massively multiplayer online games and is developing a shooter title set in the “Alien” cinematic universe for consoles and PCs. Terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed. FoxNext Games, part of 21st Century Fox, is acquiring Cold Iron from games publisher Perfect World Entertainment. The deal builds on FoxNext’s …