Steam might have been banned in China

It was recently reported that the PC gaming platform Steam might have been blocked in China.

Developed by Valve, Steam is the biggest PC gaming platform. The multifaceted platform has pioneered the development of the PC gaming ecosystem with the implementation of features such as achievements, no additional charges for multiplayer, and regional pricing, which has now become standardized.

It was recently reported that the global version of Steam was inaccessible in China, and it was shown to be blocked.

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China has allegedly blocked the global version of Steam

China not only has one of the world’s biggest mobile and PC gaming audiences, but it is also home to several studios. From Tencent to NetEase, China is home to some of the world’s biggest publishers. The country also has massive esports communities to boot.

Earlier today, players from China reported that the global version of Steam was down. Although this was initially assumed to be a typical server failure, it was soon discovered that the “store.steampowered.com,” has been blocked across the entire country.

Interestingly, the China-specific Steam version, accessible through “store.steamchina.com,” which launched back in February of this year, is functioning as expected.

However, this version only consists of 103 games in comparison to the Global Steam, which comprises over 110,000 unique titles across its digital storefront.

The move does come as a surprise, especially during the on-going Steam Winter Sale, but is not unprecedented based on the country’s previous legislation on gaming.

Previously, Fortnite, which was already modified for Chinese audiences, was banned on 15 November 2021. The Chinese government also implemented a law, where children were limited to only 3 hours of gaming.

Looking at other forms of entertainment media, several notable movie awards have not received a contender for this year, whereas the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2021 consist of several Chinese movies.

It is still uncertain if or when the PC gaming platform could be available for the general public, or what the future of gaming looks like for China. The matter hasn’t been officially addressed by an authority figure as of yet. As such, this is a developing story.