Tencent’s WeGame platform in push to go global, heating up rivalry with PC gaming site Steam
Rival platforms WeGame and Steam compete in the global personal computer video games market, which is forecast to be worth US$28.6 billion this year
Tencent Holdings, which runs the world's largest video games business by revenue, is set to launch the international version of its WeGame store and social platform in Hong Kong, with the aim to build up the overseas market for China-developed personal computer games.
WeGame, an upgrade from the previous Tencent Games Platform, went online in September last year as a Chinese-language site where users can watch live-streaming video games, access support tools for communication between players and developers, and download PC and stand-alone games.
“The Hong Kong version of WeGame is now under development,” said a spokesman for Shenzhen-based Tencent in a statement on Friday. “This version will be available for overseas users, and we will use this platform to bring more Chinese games to the global market.”
WeGame, China’s biggest PC games distribution platform, currently offers about 220 titles available for download, including games developed overseas. Don't Starve Together, a multiplayer survival game developed by Canadian independent studio Klei Entertainment, had sold more than two million copies on WeGame by April, according to Tencent.
The Hong Kong-listed internet giant’s move to ratchet up WeGame’s international expansion followed last month’s announcement by US games developer Valve Corp that it was bringing its Steam distribution platform to China, under an exclusive partnership with Nasdaq-traded Chinese entertainment conglomerate Perfect World.