World of Warcraft China (WoW) has announced its sponsorship of two Chinese Dota 2 organizations, Xtreme Gaming and G2xiG, for The International 2024 (TI13). This sponsorship deal, revealed on Monday (Sep. 2), is set to promote WoW’s latest expansion, The War Within.
Image Credit: Xtreme Gaming on bilibili
However, challenges arose when Valve announced that no in-game advertisements would be allowed at The International, potentially putting the sponsorship in danger. Initially, the plan was to display “For Xal’atath” with Xtreme Gaming and “For Azeroth” with G2xiG, but this was no longer feasible due to Valve’s ruling.
Despite this setback, WoW China chose to stand by its commitment to support both Chinese teams throughout TI13. The partnership marks a surprising turn of events, considering Warcraft and Dota’s complicated history.
Warcraft and Dota have had a tumultuous relationship over the years, with Blizzard’s attempts to claim copyrights related to Defense of the Ancients and Dota causing friction. Despite these past conflicts, WoW and Dota appear to be finding common ground in this sponsorship.
WoW’s return to China in April 2024, after ending its deal with distributor NetEase in 2023, has been eventful. As part of this comeback, bounties were offered to combat cheaters on Chinese servers. The continuation of support for Xtreme Gaming and G2xiG during TI13 demonstrates WoW China’s commitment to the Chinese esports scene.
