Mega gaming distributor, Steam, provides video games to many platforms and locations around the world, and one of its most prominent regions is getting a solo marketplace.
Valve recently shared that a partnership with Perfect World, a Chinese game developer, will officially bring a tailored version of Steam to China.
China has become increasingly strict regarding what types of games are allowed there. The country makes up one of the largest communities of gamers in the world, therefore creating a separate platform that falls in line with the stipulations of the Chinese government will make gaming easier for both players and producers.
Recently, many video game developers have had to crack down on specific content that makes it to computer screens in China due to these tightening regulations. Steam China will allow Steam to continue offering services to Chinese players without having to affect their gaming experiences negatively, and while still remaining consistent with other regions.
With more and more risqué titles being added to the Steam marketplace, it makes sense that the game distributor is doing its best to appease all areas. Currently, however, Steam is available to download and purchase games for Chinese players, despite not always meeting China’s video game regulations.
In fact, as China continues to crack down on what can and can’t be played, many gamers in China have stuck to using Steam to get around certain restrictions. A few Steam features have been inaccessible thus far, however downloading and playing games has remained consistent.
Statistics from late 2018 showed that Steam had over 30 million Chinese users, and many independent games that utilize the Steam platform have shared how large percentages of their player base consist of players from China.
So, what will the introduction of Steam China mean with all of this?
At this time, Valve doesn’t seem to have a perfectly clear picture of how current Steam users from China will be affected once Steam China becomes available.
As it stands, these 30 million+ users have created accounts, purchased and downloaded games, and established themselves within the international version of Steam. Whether or not these files will still be accessible or transferable when Steam China arrives is uncertain at this time.
Despite this, Steam China will open a new doorway for Chinese players to be able to invest in a platform that they can use to its full potential.
As of right now, Valve has not mentioned an official release date for Steam China; however, they have noted that it will be supportive of many of the things that the current Steam platform offers – including multiplayer games and virtual reality.
Hopefully, Valve will continue to release more information on Steam China’s launch date, how the platform will work in correlation to the current Steam platform, and which games will be coming to the client.
