Earlier this year, we reported on the surprise announcement that Perfect World Entertainment was in talks with Valve to bring Steam into China. It’s official now, though; Valve and PWE publicly signed a contract in the presence of government officials announcing that the distribution platform will arrive in China, although the platform’s titles will still have to go through the same approval process as other new titles.
Further information is still in the realm of rumor and speculation; it’s rumored, for example, that existing titles in player libraries will be spared any further inspection and there will be a region lock in place. The announcement is likely to be a boon for indie developers making native Chinese games, and this coincides with another agreement between PWE and Valve covering the Dota 2 championships in China. So it’s good news for gamers in the country, something that has been a long time coming considering this year’s overall trajectory.
