Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Corp. plans to announce a marketing and distribution deal in China for its online game “World of Warcraft” with Coca-Cola Co. and China’s The9 Ltd.
The deal could be worth $63 million in royalties for Blizzard, according to software analyst C. Ming Zhao of Terra of Nova Institutional Inc. in New Jersey.
“It’s a very big game for this year,” Zhao said.
Coke is looking to sell soft drinks with “World of Warcraft” characters on cans and bottles, Zhao said.
“The users of the game will be their market,” he said.
Paul Sams, Blizzard’s chief operating officer, declined comment on the announcement scheduled to take place this weekend in Shanghai.
Blizzard President and cofounder Mike Morhaime was said to be traveling to China earlier this week.
Sams declined to identify the companies involved in the “major announcement.”
“It’s something that we will want to get the word out the second we are allowed to,” Sams said. “It’s quite incredible what is going to be done.”
Blizzard is part of Los Angeles-based Vivendi Universal Games Inc., itself part of France’s Vivendi Universal SA.
The Business Journal estimates Blizzard’s yearly sales at $300 million.
“This will be the very best year ever in the company’s existence,” Sams said.
He attributed the rosy outlook on the success of “World of Warcraft” and other online games.
A month ago, Blizzard bought Swingin’ Ape Studios, an Aliso Viejo game company Blizzard hired a year ago to help develop another highly anticipated game: “StarCraft: Ghost.”
Blizzard makes games for computers and consoles that link to TV sets, including Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox.
