According to an article on MMOsite, Blizzard is suspected of entering an illegal joint venture with NetEase when it gave the company the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China after the contract with The9 expired. It appears the Shanghai News and Publication Bureau has been assigned to investigate the issue to see if Blizzard is violating Chinese regulations.

The article states that under Chinese law, foreign enterprises are not allowed to operate online games in the Chinese market in the form of a wholly owned company or a joint venture. Apparently there are concerns over how NetEase obtained the operating rights for WoW — the article says NetEase paid a high revenue share to Blizzard, which will quadruple the gains of Blizzard compared to the gains obtained from cooperating with The9.

The author of the article suspects the approval of the transition of the operating rights will be suspended before the investigation is completed. We'll have to wait and see what the future has in store for WoW in China.