A single angry player might be suing Blizzard, not its former Chinese publisher

World of Warcraft — (Image credit: Blizzard)

A new report claims NetEase isn't suing Blizzard; one disgruntled gamer is, leading to confusion en masse.

Earlier this week, it was reported that NetEase was suing Blizzard to the tune of $435 million over player refunds. The lawsuit allegedly originated from Blizzard and NetEase being unable to reach an agreement on publishing games in China, and thus Blizzard game servers in China were shut down earlier this year in January.

Now, it's being reported that NetEase isn't suing Blizzard. Rather, one aggravated fan is. As WowHead reports, the individual goes by 'Yang Jun,' and this isn't even the first time the individual has launched a solo lawsuit - Yang Jun previously sued NetEase back in 2019 over World of Warcraft game time.

WowHead reports that an error made it seem as though Yang Jun was affiliated with NetEase, and thus made it appear as though NetEase was the one suing Blizzard. That's quite the head-scratching turn of events in this already-strange saga, but would admittedly make a lot of sense, given that Blizzard previously told GamesRadar+ that it hadn't officially received NetEase's lawsuit.

Right now, Blizzard tells GamesRadar+ that they can't verify the report of Yang Jun suing them, though the developer is actively looking into the situation. We'll update this article should we receive further information from Blizzard or NetEase.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.