Valve plans to bring Steam to China in an official capacity, expanding the reach of its distribution service and games library to a huge additional audience. The plan was announced today in conjunction with Perfect World, a Shanghai-based company that Valve previously worked with to distribute local version of Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Steam can already be accessed in China, but it appears to be more of an unofficial availability that risked being blocked by the government — as some portions of the service recently were. By partnering with a local company, Valve can ensure that Steam remains live. It can also better localize the service and promote it to more gamers in a country where gaming is booming (though that’s…

Continue reading…