After being under the threat of ban for much of 2009, also spending much of the year offline, the most popular MMORPG World of Warcraft faced the shut down, which - if became permanent - may affect the earnings of Activision Blizzard, as well as set the 'New MMO Order'.

A Chinese regulator has suspended approval for *snip* Inc (NTES.O) to operate Activision Blizzard's (ATVI.O) World of Warcraft online game, putting the future of the recently-launched and high-profile title in question in China.

Citing "gross violations" of regulations, the General Administration of Press and Publication said it had halted and returned NetEase's application to operate "Burning Crusades" -- the latest version of the game licensed from Activision.

collector via reuters.com »