Valve partners with Perfect World to develop 'Steam China,' an 'independent' storefront...

[Polycount]

In brief: Google might be backing off from a China-exclusive search engine, but Valve has no such reservations. The company will be moving forward with plans to launch "Steam China," a completely localized version of its popular digital distribution platform intended to appeal to the rapidly-expanding PC gaming market in the country.

In an attempt to get ahead of any potential censorship from Chinese officials, Steam China will be developed in collaboration with Perfect World. Perfect World is the company responsible for publishing many popular titles, including the newly-released Remnant: From the Ashes, the upcoming Torchlight: Frontiers, Star Trek Online, and Neverwinter.

So, what value will Steam China offer to Chinese consumers? As stated before, the platform will be designed from the ground up for the country. This means that available content will be localized (going beyond mere translation), download servers will be in the country, and the experience as a whole will comply with all Chinese laws.

That means tighter scrutiny over what games are and aren't allowed on the service (likely meaning less "shovelware" and "asset flips") and community features that don't break China's strict rules on internet communications.

Steam China, also known as Zhengqi Pingtai, will launch with a relatively small roster of games, but they include the likes of Two Point Hospital, Dead Cells, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV, FTL, and others -- the full list comes out at about 40 games, according to PC Gamer.

It's worth noting that, despite Valve's desire to cater to this new market, "nothing [will] change" about Steam's other global presences. The platform will continue to operate as it has for many years now: Steam China is an independent product.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/81556-valve-partners-perfect-world-develop-team-china-independent.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Ohhhhhhhh ...... like most that have attempted to do business with China, I think Steam will pay a very heavy price and end up having their business pulled out from under them .....

 

[loki1944]

So...Communist Steam. Tow that party line, leave independent thought at the door.

 

[Puiu]

Ohhhhhhhh ...... like most that have attempted to do business with China, I think Steam will pay a very heavy price and end up having their business pulled out from under them .....

They most likely share a part of the revenue with Perfect World, but Valve should still get the biggest share of the profits. It's how the majority of multinational companies do business in China.

 

[Lounds]

Ohhhhhhhh ...... like most that have attempted to do business with China, I think Steam will pay a very heavy price and end up having their business pulled out from under them .....

The difference between other businesses, Valve isn't PLC and is fully independent, I can see China creating a tax that steam will have to pay. Valve's wealth and value isn't handed in dividends, it's all held within the company which is why I think Epic games can do one as they're well over valve compared to Valve.

 

[Knot Schure]

I work in China, and Steam works there, and there are lots of Chinese (cheater mofos) players too.

But the Steam chat client doesn't work at all, you do not get messages from anyone, whereever they are, and if someone comments on a profile, you can see the notifiication, but you will never see the message unless you launch your VPN, which is a problem in of itself, as that is so well-blocked too, and Steam sometimes forces you to 'verify' yourself after having logged in via said VPN.

Phuck the commies.

 

[Alex Voinica]

So now that Epic is basically gaining ground, instead of releasing any of their much anticipated titles ending with a 3, they are looking for new ways to milk the cow. Gaming industry is a b!tch.

 

[thews86]

The Donald John (Our Lord and Savior) will stuff his big orange banana down Gabe's throat for this.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

No Pooh jokes.

 

[Jimster480]

Ohhhhhhhh ...... like most that have attempted to do business with China, I think Steam will pay a very heavy price and end up having their business pulled out from under them .....

Basically, this has happened to too many companies over the last years.

 

[ypsylon]

Since Emperor Vespasian officially: Pecunia non olet.

Translation from Latin: Money does not stink.