Last month Blizzard decided to switch operators for their massively multiplayer rpg World of Warcraft from The9 to NetEase. As a replacement for World of Warcraft, there is speculation The9 plans to release a knock off clone of World of Warcraft. The epic new mmo will be called World of Fight and the official website will be www.wofchina.com. In China World of Warcraft’s official website is www.wowchina.com. In addition to a nearly identical domain name Kotaku points out the logo and the color scheme are also very similar.

Readers of Kotaku pointed out the picture visible on www.wofchina.com looks very similar to the Chaos Gate, from Mythic’s Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. EA publishes Warhammer Online and they also own shares in The9.

With Blizzard’s contract with The9 expiring Blizzard signed a three year deal with NetEase to operate World of Warcraft in mainland China.  Last summer Blizzard announced a partnership with NetEase to operate StarCraft II, Warcraft III, and Battle.net in mainland China.  The decision to grant NetEase the contract appears to be a logical next step.  Blizzard explained their decision stating, “We appreciate the enthusiasm that Chinese gamers have shown us over the years, and we’ve always worked hard, in collaboration with our partners, to ensure that these players receive the same high-quality service and gameplay experiences that we deliver in other regions. This new agreement with NetEase will support that goal for years to come, and we look forward to collaborating with them on a smooth transition for World of Warcraft moving forward.”

Examples of Chinese companies creating knock offs of popular MMO’s is not without precedent. The Wall Street Journal points out when the South Korean game company Actoz Soft terminated Shanda’s license for game Legend of Mir 2 in 2003, Shanda launched its own game called World of Legend.

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