As an avid World of Warcraft player, many jokes have been made about gold farmers and crazy WoW addicts that live in China. However, these jokes look like they will be coming to an end. NetEase, the company in charge of operating World of Warcraft in China, has had the games approval suspended. There will be no new account activations, nor will existing subscribers be charged. The reasoning was that there were "gross violations" of regulations that were in place.

If all remember, China had a two month down time as World of Warcraft changed from previous host The9 to NetEase, due to The9 losing the licensing to World of Warcraft. Also, changes were made to the game in order to allow it approval in China. With the re release in September and the rumors of Wrath of the Lich King releasing in November, this news is a large surprise.

According to Gamasutra, this all may be attributed to the struggle between the GAPP and Ministry of Culture. This struggle is one that, in essence, will see who controls the internet in China. I guess for the time being, China will yet again be without World of Warcraft, and it may not come back this time.