Valve Announces a China-Specific Version of Steam
Jun. 12, 2018China probably has the largest population of gamers and to benefit from this large audience, Valve has announced that it willlaunch a localized version of Steam in China. Given the vastness of the Chinese gaming demographic, Steam China – as the new localized service would be dubbed – would bring significant returns to the game distributor.
Back in December last year, certain features such as forums, user profiles, and inventories were banned in China – although the store remained accessible. Despite this ban, nearly27 percent of Steam users use Simplified Chineseas permonthly surveys. This shows the potential the platform has in the country which leads Japan, USA, Germany, and the UK in terms of revenue earned by the gaming industry.
The collaboration is similar to the one between Blizzard and China’s NetEase which has brought titles likeStarCraft IIandOverwatchto China. But, Valve has not revealed details about how content will be shared on the Chinese portal but we can know for certain that it will comply with the censorship rules imposed by the government. There isno word on an official launch, either.
Valve has also clarified that Steam China will not obstruct the working of its main platform. Perfect World will be leading major development and will beresponsible for the release of newer titles and marketingof the platform.
Undeniably, the initiative is likely to have a tough battle against the domestic leader Tencent which is responsible for bringing games likePUBG Mobileand has a sizeable investment in Fortnite.
