The Chinese "one-trick pony" online game operator The9 has confirmed that it will cut 300 employees who previously worked on the operation of World of Warcraft game.

According to news reports in local media, the employees are mainly customer service staff, and the company will cancel the non-compete agreement limit on these employees. In addition, it will transfer about 800 WoW workers to other online games that are operated by The9.

The9 said that with an eye on its development demands the company has decided to make adjustments to the personnel and work allocations of the operating team. For people who are dismissed in the adjustments, the company will provide compensations that are higher than the standards set by law. The company will lift non-compete limits on these employees and if the company plans to launch a new recruitment drive, those people will be priority candidates.

In April this year, Blizzard Entertainment announced that it would not renew its operating contract on the World of Warcraft game with The9. Instead, the company is planning to cooperate with another Chinese online game operator, NetEase.com. Because the revenue from World of Warcraft accounted for a major part of The9's total revenue, the termination of cooperation between Blizzard Entertainment and The9 has brought a big negative impact to The9's operations.

The9 and Chinese software developer Kingsoft have reportedly recently agreed to cooperate to jointly operate JX3 Online, an online game developed by Kingsoft.