If you thought Steam, Origin, and other similar online gaming platform/storefront hybrids were exclusive to western markets, think again.
Chinese corporate giant Tencent has run its own digital gaming platform, “WeGame,” since April 2017.
Though the exact games on the platform are tough to describe given the fact that the entire platform is in Chinese, much like Steam it sells games from developers around the world, including survival titles like Don’t Starve Together and League of Legends.
However, Tencent isn’t satisfied with their current market share. The South China Morning Post has reported that Tencent is planning to launch a global version of WeGame in Hong Kong.
This is a surprising move, but not an unprecedented one in the gaming industry; Valve has already announced their plans to bring Steam to China.
“The Hong Kong version of WeGame is now under development,” a Tencent representative said in a statement to the Morning Post. “This version will be available for overseas users, and we will use this platform to bring more Chinese games to the global market.”
While Tencent’s goal undoubtedly lies in increasing profits, their decision could end up being quite a boon for western users. Gamers could be exposed to entirely different takes on existing game genres, or they could merely find a handful of gems they would never have played otherwise. That said, localization and language barriers could prove to be a problem.
Regardless, this is exciting news. Steam may be considered one of the best PC gaming platforms out there, but more competition can only be a good thing.
