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Video gaming
Tech

Steam to enter China officially in 2021, raising concerns about censorship as content purge continues

  • Valve’s Chinese partner Perfect World will trial an official China version of Steam on January 16
  • Chinese gamers are worried that the international version of Steam will be blocked, after Apple removed over 100,000 unlicensed games from its App Store

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Steam, developed by US firm Valve Corp, is the world’s most popular online video game platform. Photo: Bloomberg
Josh Ye

Steam, the world’s most popular online video game platform developed by US firm Valve Corp, will launch a China-only version this year with a local partner amid China’s continued crackdown on foreign games and game platforms.

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Without disclosing a specific launch date, Valve’s Chinese partner Perfect World said on Thursday it will launch an official version of Steam in mainland China early this year. The company also said that it will trial the service of the new platform as part of its esports carnival on January 16.

Unlike most other countries, China requires games to obtain licences from the government before operating in the country.

Despite the staggering growth seen in China’s gaming market, it is becoming increasingly difficult for foreign games to operate in the country. Last year, the government granted licences to a total of 1,413 games, of which only 97 were developed abroad.

Before last year, Apple’s App Store was the only other big online game store in addition to Steam which had unlicensed games on its digital shelves.

But the US tech giant removed over 100,000 unlicensed games from its App Store last year, according to Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at market research firm Niko Partners. It also required all game publishers to obtain a licence by the end of last year, leaving Steam as the only avenue for avid Chinese gamers keen to get their hands on foreign hit games not legally approved to be sold in China.
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