The Steam Global servers may have been accidentally banned in China, though the cause is still unverified. In 2018, Chinese developer Perfect World and Valve partnered for an onshore version of Steam titled Steam China. The move would allow games approved by the Chinese government to be purchased through the platform. Due to concerns over the Chinese government’s censorship of games, reception to the storefront has been mixed.

Gaming restrictions have grown increasingly prevalent in China since 2019’s online game rules for minors were introduced. China’s ongoing campaign against online game addiction limits the amount of time young gamers can spend playing internet-enabled video games, aiming to reduce any potential impact that games may have on younger audiences. The Chinese C ommunist Party implemented even stricter rules on game time on October 1, 2021, banning gaming on school days and permitting one hour of play per day on the weekends. The restrictions coincided with a state report which compared online video games to opium, amidst ongoing controversy around gaming addiction.

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As reported by NME, Chinese players found themselves unable to use the international Steam Global client on December 25, leading to speculation that Steam has been banned in China. Twitter user SteamDB tweeted that the store and API subdomains experienced “connection resets” on the international client, though players could still play games and access all parts of Steam China. Unable to access the global client, players could only play the 103 games available on Steam China compared to the tens of thousands on Steam Global. Initial reports said the government might have accidentally banned Steam Global, but new information points to a DNS attack. The attack, a DNS Cache Poisoning attack, allegedly hacked the DNS of Steam Global to prevent players in China from accessing the servers, according to dataminer PlayerIGN on Twitter. Yet, conflicting reports from users who spoke to PlayerIGN indicate there might not have been a DNS Cache Poisoning at all. A definitive cause of the attack is still under investigation at the time of writing.

The removal of games in China is not uncommon. This year alone, the government removed thousands of games from the Apple App Store due to a lack of government approval, and an event like this happening again makes way for speculation surrounding the future of gaming in China. Given the track record of the Ministry of Culture, the CCP could be looking to establish even more control over the gaming market by blocking access to Steam Global. Doing so would mean all players would only be able to access government-approved titles on Steam China.

Whether or not the Steam issues are the result of a ban remains to be seen, but such a ban could significantly alter how developers outside of China should publish games if looking to access the Chinese player market. Moreover, the extra steps could push some developers away from selling games in the country altogether. Hopefully, that isn’t the case in the immediate future, though more should become clear when it's confirmed what truly caused the Steam issues in China.

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Source: Twitter/SteamDB, Twitter/PlayerIGN (via NME)