West of the neon towers of Shanghai’s Pudong district, along the Wusong River that winds through a much quieter part of the city, a few hundred developers are challenging the conventions that define China’s unparalleled $33 billion videogame industry. In a market defined by free-to-play online games, the term ‘indie’ doesn’t mean much to a lot of Chinese gamers.
But that doesn’t stop over 10,000 attendees from gathering on the first floor of the enormous Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center of International Sourcing to showcase Chinese indie games. Called WePlay Game Expo, this conference is the only one of its kind in China—a haven for a fledgling indie scene whose future depends almost entirely on the regulations of China’s government and, surprisingly, a Seattle-based company: Valve.
Though China has more gamers than anywhere else in the world (roughly 800 million), its industry is also the least diverse. Free-to-play mobile, and PC games—most oozing with pay-to-win schemes and loot boxes—have reigned supreme since online gaming exploded in the mid-2000s. But WePlay Game Expo and the developers who attend it are looking to change that.
It’s like a miniature version of PAX West, the game convention that invades downtown Seattle each August. Though there are a few big-budget, international games (a 2K Games booth sporting the divine visage of Borderlands 3’s iconic Psycho greets me as I walk in), deeper into the swell of the crowd is where the coolest stuff is.
This story is from the April 2020 edition of PC Gamer US Edition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2020 edition of PC Gamer US Edition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TERMINATOR: RESISTANCE
Revisiting Teyon’s game after Robocop: Rogue City.
RICH'N BEEFY
LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH is a dizzyingly huge all-you-can-eat Yakuza buffet
ROUND 8 FIGHT!
TEKKEN 8 is a blend of nostalgia for fans and a pair of welcoming arms for newbies
HOLY HELL
THE INQUISITOR is a grim yet strangely gripping dark fantasy adventure
SHOT DEAD
There are flashes of greatness in SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE
THE BEST NON-TRADITIONAL WAR GAMES
Is it possible for wargamers to give peace a chance?
WHEELIE GOOD
Freewheeling with Northern Irish indie studio Billy Goat Entertainment and its next project, PARCEL CORPS
PALWORLD
Shockingly, animal cruelty doesn't make for a fulfilling experience
DIVINE FREQUENCY
This horror-RPG-FPS built in the Doom engine is terrifying
AVOWED
Obsidian's next RPG goes all in on first-person action