Valve has chosen the middle of E3’s PC Gaming Show to announce that it is launching Steam China in collaboration with local games operator Perfect World.
Steam is already accessible in China, but it has fallen foul of regulators there, and recently all the service’s community features were blocked, although the store remained operational. Some feared that it would be banned altogether as it faced competition from local rivals such as Tencent’s WeGame platform.
Chinese regulation favours local companies, so most Western games publishers partner with local outfits to operate their games in the market. Indeed, Valve’s own Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are already operated by Perfect World in China.
Source: Eurogamer Valve to launch a Chinese version of Steam