Steam arrives in China as a separate market

Steam is moving towards China as a separate market co-created by Valve and its Chinese partner, Perfect World. The Shanghai-based video game developer and publisher said Steam China would be "almost entirely independent of Steam."

This is according to a Technode report. The custom market is officially titled "Zhengqi Pingtai", which translates into Steam Platform.

By creating a standalone version of Steam specifically for China, Valve will be able to comply with the increasingly stringent rules imposed by Chinese regulators on video games, without harming its interests in other regions. Valve has been closely monitored in the past because of the violent and sexually explicit games it distributes on the market, but an independent Chinese store should alleviate these problems in the future.

According to Perfect World's general manager, Xiao Hong, Steam China will be "tailor-made for Chinese users", with "high-speed servers and high-quality operating teams". About 40 games will initially be marketed on the new platform. All are currently available on the international version of Steam, including Dota 2 and Dota Underlords.