The9

This article is about the online game operator. For the music group, see The9 (group). For other uses, see 9 (disambiguation).

The9 Ltd. (Chinese: 第九城市) is a Shanghai-based online game operator which had the exclusive licence to operate and distribute World of Warcraft in China (launched in June 2005, it has since become the largest online game), a licence it secured after successfully aiding Webzen Games with the distribution of Mu Online in China. However, in April 2009, Blizzard said that the licence has been moved to NetEase.com.^[2]

The9 Ltd.

Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq: NCTY
Industry	Video games
Founded	1999; 26 years ago (1999)
Headquarters	Shanghai, China
Area served	China
Key people	Zhu Jun (chairman and CEO)
Products	Online game operation
Revenue	US$10.16 million (2014)
Net income	US-$17.03 million (2014)[1]
Number of employees	498

Game licences acquired

Note: Game licences acquired In rough order of release.

• Mu Online (the partnership has ended)
• World of Warcraft (the partnership has ended)^[3]
• Joyful Journey West
• Guild Wars (Chinese version) (The deal with NCsoft ended prematurely.31 March 2008)
• Soul of the Ultimate Nation
• Granado Espada
• Hellgate: London
• Huxley
• Ragnarok Online 2
• FIFA Online 2
• Atlantica Online
• Free Realms^[4]
• PlanetSide 2
• Firefall
• Winning Goal