Economics

U.S. Gamers Are Drawn to and Threatened by China. Trump May Help

  • Tech firms complain about the challenges of operating in China
  • But its massive market size makes the nation hard to ignore
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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When the American maker of the popular World of Warcraft video game sued a Chinese company for copying designs and storylines, little did anyone know the dispute would come to illustrate one of the biggest sticking points in the U.S.-China trade war.

The case involved Activision Blizzard Inc., a California company that sued China’s Lilith Games in 2015 for the type of copyright infringement that the Trump administration says is rampant in the Asian nation. The complaint -- which was eventually dismissed -- didn’t stop Blizzard from increasing its presence there and extending a partnership this year with China’s NetEase Inc.