The share prices of NetEase experienced a substantial dip on Monday. The share prices for the Chinese gaming giant experienced a dip on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Reason Behind the Dip

The reports coming in surrounding NetEase confirmed that over the weekend, NetEase made an announcement regarding one of the highly anticipated mobile games.

The name of the game is Diablo Immortal which is being developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The game is being built on the Messiah engine. This is the first time Blizzard Entertainment has launched a mobile version of Diablo, one of the top game franchises owned by Blizzard Entertainment.

However, NetEase was responsible for the launch of Diablo Immortal in China. Initially, the launch date of the Chinese version of Diablo Immortal was June 23 in China.

NetEase ended up making a sad announcement for the fans of the Diablo franchise who were eager to get their hands on the phone version of the game. The game is hotly anticipated throughout the globe and in China, the level of anticipation was significantly higher.

Following the announcement of facing a delay in the launch of the Chinese version of the game, NetEase’s share prices have plunged by almost 7%.

Cause of Delay

NetEase did try explaining the cause behind the delay revealing that they are in the process of making adjustments to the game. They want to make sure that the game is available to a wider audience by making the game available on as many devices as possible.

They are also working on the performance and network optimizations of the game so the game does not require any patches or fixes in near future.

Critical Situation for Blizzard and NetEase

The situation may seem difficult for Blizzard and NetEase for now but it may be worth the hit for them for now. Just recently, the Chinese regulatory authorities removed bans from the gaming industry in China.

It is now when the regulatory authorities have started giving approvals to both international and local developers to launch their games. As the game is highly anticipated in China, it is important that the game is flawless when it is launched.

The companies may be taking a hit for now but in the long run, it can become the best investment and decision for them.

Despite the strong fan following, it is a new move that Blizzard Entertainment has made to step into the smartphone gaming industry. It is not known how the fans will react to the game once it is released but the developers have very high hopes.

Neither of the companies made any comments on the recent delay announcement they made about the game’s release.