According to news on multiple social media platforms, the Steam China version has recently blocked the “LGBTQ+” tag on the platform. Although Valve has not officially issued any statement or confirmed relevant news, many recent posts pointed out that Steam users in China will receive error messages when trying to search for games with the “LGBTQ+” tag, indicating that the content of the page has been deemed “inappropriate content” because it “violates local laws and regulations” and therefore cannot obtain results.
Editor’s note: My recent FB posts may offend some people because of my personal confusion. I would like to announce the relevant information on the fan page. What I’m talking about is DEI, not LGBTQ+. I’m just stupid.
according to ResetEra Organized by forum user Neha, these messages mainly come from China’s local social media Weibo. For example, a Weibo user posted a message on June 24 to remind developers that the current search system of the Chinese version of the Steam platform has locked content marked with the “LGBTQ+” tag, and related games cannot be found through reverse searches.
Neha said that if you use a Steam account registered in China and try to manually search for the “LGBTQ+” tag, an error message will appear saying “The content on this page has been marked as inappropriate due to violation of local laws and regulations, so it cannot be viewed from your current location.” As of now, Valve has not made any statement on this. However, it is worth noting that these games marked with the “LGBTQ+” label have not been completely removed from the Chinese version of the Steam platform, and can still be browsed and purchased normally, but the relevant information cannot be found through the search system. Even so, this will still seriously affect the exposure of these games.
However, Valve has always adjusted the content of local Steam stores in accordance with the laws and regulations of each country. For example, earlier this year, independent game developer Ebi-hime posted on Twitter that when several lily-themed games she developed were removed from the Russian Steam store, Valve officials warned her through a notification letter.
Although Valve made it clear at the time that this decision would not affect the distribution of her games in other regions, at the end of the statement, Valve condemned the developer for not paying enough attention to the responsibilities of local distribution regulations.
“We would also like to remind you that you have made a commitment to Valve under the Steam platform publishing agreement that your game must comply with the laws of each place. Therefore, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence in the regions where your game can or can be released, and proactively inform us of any regions where such release is prohibited.” Valve said in a statement at the time
Source: KOCPC Chinese