Chinese tech giant Tencent tests international version of WeGame platform
Tencent has made a version of its game platform WeGame available worldwide. An English-language website and a client have appeared under the name WeGame X. It is a test and so far there are only 22 games available.
The website Abacus noted that WeGame X is online. Tencent itself has not publicized the English version of its game platform. A spokesperson for Tencent explains that this is a test and that Tencent will bring Chinese games to more markets via WeGame X in the future.
The WeGame X client has an Early Access label and there are 22 games in the download store at the time of writing. It concerns minor titles and a number of Chinese games. The website, which is hosted in Hong Kong, states that players can access games from Deep Silver, Larian Studios and Hello Games through the platform. At the moment that is not yet the case.
WeGame is a well-known game platform in China with many users. In the country, Steam is officially unavailable and the Chinese government censors many games. Because of that censorship, there are also few games on the Chinese version of WeGame, there would be about 170. A developer explained to Gamasutra last year how difficult it is to get a game on WeGame. It may be easier for the international version.
WeGame has been in existence in China since April 2017 and it is a further development of the Tencent Games Platform, which according to Wikipedia has more than two hundred million users. The platform features many free-to-play games that are popular in China. Tencent is also the operator of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in China and it is the owner of Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends.
Tencent is one of the world’s largest technology companies and has a current market value of approximately EUR 412 billion. The company is already indirectly active in the global gamer market with the Epic Games Store. Tencent owns 40 percent of the shares of Epic Games. Tencent also has a minority interest in Activision Blizzard. The Chinese giant is also the maker of chat service WeChat, which has approximately one billion users worldwide.