This article only represents the author's own views.

The return of “World of Warcraft” to China looked like big news when local gaming giant NetEase Inc. (NTES.US; 9999.HK) announced a new agreement this week to relaunch the popular title from Blizzard Entertainment after a more than one-year absence. But market reaction tells a different story that is far more nuanced.

The bottom line was that shareholders never fretted too much about the fracturing of the partnership between China’s second-largest gaming company and Blizzard more than a year ago. Instead, the bigger significance seems to be the agreement’s reflection of a recent shift in Beijing’s attitude towards China’s gaming sector. That shift has seen the government start showing new respect for the group in the last year, following several years of just the opposite when it was subject to repeated crackdowns.