Valve And Perfect World Are Bringing Steam To China

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Valve is officially bringing Steam to China with the help of game and movie company Perfect World, it announced Monday.

Steam China will extend a partnership between the two companies that began in 2012. subsidiaries currently operate some of ’s online titles in China, including “DOTA 2” and “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.” Perfect World and Valve will work closely on Steam China, actively promoting its launch, marketing, and game lineup. Valve said no changes are planned for Steam’s existing worldwide operations and service due to this announcement.

China is currently the world’s biggest video games market, valued at more than $25 billion in 2016, according to a report from IHS Markit . It reportedly represents a quarter of all money generated by video games worldwide. Most of the country’s spending (51%) comes from the PC market. Microtransactions accounted for 88% of PC revenues in 2016, with a majority of that money (59%) going to tech giant Tencent, who owns and operates popular online titles “League of Legends” and “Crossfire.” Steam, meanwhile, is one of the world’s largest digital distribution platforms on PC, offering over 20,000 games to people around the world.

Perfect World CEO Robert H. Xiao said in a press release his company will introduce more games to the Chinese market through Steam China, providing quality content and improving the experience for both gamers and developers. It’s known for its massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like “Legend of Martial Arts,” “Swordsman Online,” and the eponymous “Perfect World.”

There’s no word yet on when Steam China will launch.