NetEase had a three year agreement for World of Warcraft only to have there application "passed up" due to "violating the rules". Here's the problem, The9 had this game in operation in china for four years, count 'em four years. The GAPP knows what the game is and how it plays. The9 gave up the license and now noone gets to play. A little ridiculous if you ask me. The GAPP needs to decide what they want to do with this game and move on. Players have been in limbo for the past year, waiting for someone to make a decision and now another hold up, with very little detail. It's a big political battle and gamers are stuck right in the middle of it.

There were about five million active players in China at the end of last year. That's a lot of cash being handed around there, and i am sure that once everyone decides how they will get there piece of it, the game will get approved lickety split. Until then, WoW players in China are just going to have to sit around and wait for some sort of conclusion to this crazy mess.

For more info on this crazy story check out the Times Live article here