Valve has officially released the Chinese version of Steam, but the offer is reduced, something expected before launch.
After its premiere on February 9, the platform only has 53 games: CS: GO and Dota 2.
The reason why the Chinese version of Steam only has 53 games compared to the more than 34,000 titles available on the platform in the rest of the world is because of the country’s politics. Valve sees limited games as they have to go through a review process and must be licensed by the government to show that the game meets Chinese standards.
Probably many games will not be released officially in China because of the standards already mentioned, which take into account all aspects of the game and how they can impact the culture of the country and the position of the government in certain aspects.
Valve, Activision Blizzard and other large companies such as Square Fenix or Ubisoft have made changes to their games over the years in titles such as CS: GO, Final Fantasy or Rainbow Six Siege so that they could be in the Chinese market.
As expected, the Chinese version of Steam does not have the options with which the community has made the platform something more than a small market. The forums, the Workshop or the direct function are excluded, being the criticisms of the users the only aspect available.
Most of the community options will never be viable on any version of Steam in China unless, according to PC Gamer, you have access to a VPN.
The Chinese version of Steam is working as a different version of the platform that only has games approved in the country market. However, normal Steam accounts will continue to work on the Chinese and international version of the platform.
