Valve tightens rules with Steam China amid greater regulatory scrutiny in the country
- Steam is a gaming platform where mainland Chinese users can access foreign games and chat with fellow players overseas
- Chinese authorities have clamped down on video games and services that can be used by players to spread politically sensitive content
Gaming giant Valve Corp now requires developers to obtain government approval for their games before they are allowed on its Steam China platform to comply with tighter regulation of gaming content in the country, the industry’s biggest market.
Valve, operator of the popular Steam personal computer game distribution service, recently added a page which requires games to certify that they have government approval, before they are released on Steam China, the forthcoming domestic version of its platform, according to Pavel Djundik, creator of the SteamDB website, which tracks apps on the Valve platform.
A representative from Valve did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday.
The development underlines how Chinese authorities have ratcheted up regulation of gaming content and services that can be used by players to spread politically-sensitive messages. The current international version of Steam is one of the few platforms where mainland Chinese users can access foreign games and chat with fellow players overseas.
Unlike most countries where video games can be freely distributed – albeit with age ratings in many cases – games have to get government approval in China prior to release.
“China’s game regulators have ramped up compliance checks this year to ensure that game developers and publishers are operating legally in China,” said Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at game consultancy Niko Partners. “The new page discovered this week is an example of the requirements developers would need to adhere by, to launch games on Steam China.”