Good news hails for gamers in India as the popular American video game developer, Blizzard Entertainment has finally stepped foot in the country. In partnership with Mumbai-based distribution platform, E-xpress Interactive Software Private Ltd., Blizzard’s titles such as Overwatch, StarCraft II, World of Warcraft, and Diablo II will be officially available throughout India.
Till now, these titles were under the monopoly of third-party resellers through unofficial channels in the country. A gamer in India would require a debit or credit card for the purchase of such games price tagged in U.S. currency. The titles were sold at steep prices due to uneasy access and the worldwide repute of the game. However, with the launch of an official channel, Blizzard Entertainment now paves an obstacle-less path for further development of India’s gaming ecosystem.
For instance, Overwatch would earlier cost ₹5000 to purchase on Xbox Live, which is much higher than the $60 official retail price. However, the game is now available for ₹3,999, a more reasonable price tag, thanks to E-xpress’s partnership. More such games such as Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition, Overwatch Origin Edition etc. will be available at e-tailers such as Games: The Shop, Landmark, Croma, Flipkart, and Amazon.
Briefing about the partnership, Gio Hunt, executive VPof corporate operations at Blizzard Entertainment said in a statement,
We’re pleased to be working with e-xpress Interactive to bring our games to India, We pour a lot of ourselves into the experiences we create, so it’s important to us to be able to share them with the widest possible audience. We’re excited that this collaboration directly supports that goal and helps us welcome more Indian players into the global Blizzard community.
Express Interactive software Pvt. Ltd. is the leading distributor of games and edutainment software in India and represents some of the top publishers from the gaming industry such as Take2 Interactive, Ubisoft, THQ, Square Enix/Eidos, Sega, Warner Brothers etc. The company suggests that Blizzard’s reputation for creating quality games is widely known in India and today’s announcement will bring great joy to the gaming community. Adding to that, Amit Khemani, Managing Director of E-xpress said,
We highly admire Blizzard’s talent, passion and commitment to create such award-winning games, and we are committed to driving the success of their games in India.
