CCP Games announced today that its sci-fi MMO Eve Online is now certified in China because of a new partnership with NetEase.

Eve Online has been available in China since 2006. It debuted in the U.S. in 2003. The MMO has stood out thanks to its deep and complicated systems, where players are in control of things like governments and the economy. NetEase also runs Blizzard’s games in China, including the MMO World of Warcraft, so it has plenty of experience managing such games for Western publishers and developers there.

Starting in 2006, Tiancity was publishing Eve Online in China. That agreement ended back in Q4 of 2018. To operate your game in China, and to have proper marketing, you need to work with a Chinese company. That’s why this new agreement is so important for Eve Online.

China is gigantic market for the industry, with the country expected to host over 767 million players by 2023. For an online game like Eve Online that depends on a healthy player count to stay profitable, China is key.

The relaunch in China will happen “soon,” with”NetEase Games and CCP Games currently making final adjustments and optimizations to the game before it goes into open beta.”