World of Warcraft allowed a "partial relaunch" in China
While World of Warcraft China remains in turmoil, the government has loosened their grip on the game slightly, allowing former account holders to jump back into Azeroth once more.
The Chinese government has given NetEase, the new operator of World of Warcraft, the ok to re-open the servers on July 30th. This relaunch is being labeled as a "testing phase," however, as no new accounts will be allowed until the government completes their review of the game. NetEase is also barred from changing the cost of the subscriptions during this phase to ensure a smooth transition from the former operator, The9.
The Chinese Cultural Department has given World of Warcraft the green light for their part of the review, but the game has now tripped a few wires with the agency that regulates print and online publications. The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) is requiring that Blizzard and NetEase change some things in the content of the game, however they have not specified what needs to be changed.
The game will be required to go through the approval process once more after this next series of changes are performed. But, hopefully the servers coming back online for former users will spark some hope in the Chinese player base, even if the game still doesn't have Wrath of the Lich King.
