Netflix has unveiled a new trailer featuring plenty of Jaeger-on-Kaiju action for its upcoming animated series, Pacific Rim: The Black, which is set to premiere on Thursday, March 4, 2021. Here's how Netflix describes its upcoming Pacific Rim animated series: "There was a time when Kaiju rose from the Pacific Rim only to encounter gigantic robots, Jaegers, built to fight them back. That time has passed. Now, Australia has been overrun by Kaiju, forcing the evacuation of an entire continent. Left behind, teenage siblings Taylor and Hayley embark on a desperate search for their missing parents, teaching themselves to pilot a battered, long-abandoned Jaeger to help in their quest and give them even the slightest hope of surviving." You can check out the action-packed trailer in the video below, or at the top of the page: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/05/pacific-rim-the-black-official-trailer-2021"] Pacific Rim: The Black comes from Legendary Television, and was created by Craig Kyle (Thor: Ragnarok) and Greg Johnson (X-Men: Evolution). The animation is being handled by Polygon Pictures, who also worked on "Levius, the Ajin: Demi-Human series, and the Godzilla Netflix Original Anime Movie Trilogy," according to Netflix. The streamer has also released a new piece of key art, which you can check out below: What do you think of the trailer and new key art? Let us know in the comments. And be sure to check out Pacific Rim: The Black when it premieres on March 4, 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

A human could theoretically safely fall into a black hole if the black hole is large enough and completely isolated. A new report from The Conversation breaks down how this is even possible and it boils down to the idea that if a black hole's center is far enough away from its event horizon, a person could pass through the event horizon without the incredible gravitational pull that would otherwise kill them. This means that somebody could technically survive going into a black hole under the right conditions, but unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to return nor would they be able to report back their findings through any means. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nasa-black-hole-gallery&captions=true"] Physicists Leo Rodriguez and Shanshan Rodriguez are both assistant professors of physics at Grinnell College and they explain how this successful trip through a black hole could happen safely in their report on The Conversation. There are two main types of black holes in the universe, according to them, and one is supermassive while the other is not. The supermassive black hole, by way of its sheer size, has a mass that's roughly 4 million times the mass of our Sun and has an event horizon with a radius of 7.3 million miles as a result. "Thus, someone falling into a stellar-size black hole (non-supermassive size) will get much, much closer to the black hole's center before passing the event horizon, as opposed to falling into a supermassive black hole," the two physicists write. A person falling into a stellar-size black hole will be much closer to the black hole's center when passing through the event horizon, which results in a gravitational pull so large that they will likely immediately die as they'll be stretched into a "long, thin noodle-like shape." A person falling into a supermassive black hole, however, would safely pass through, free of noodle-like stretching, because of how far away the event horizon is from the gravity-causing center of the black hole. This black hole would not only need to be supermassive, but completely isolated from any surrounding space material, gas, or stars as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/biggest-explosion-in-the-universe-detected"] As a result, they would theoretically safely pass through the event horizon. What happens after that would remain that person's secret because there'd be no way for them to pass along the knowledge of what they're seeing and feeling, and eventually, once close enough to the center of the black hole, they would meet their demise. Sounds like a much sadder ending than that of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and if you haven't yet watched that movie, you can read IGN's thoughts on it in our Interstellar review. For more black hole science, read this story about a black hole discovered to be the closest to Earth ever and then read about a black hole in the Milky Way seemingly changing the color of nearby stars. Check out this story about a black hole nine times larger than the Sun that's puling in space and time after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. He is morbidly curious about falling into a black hole. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

A human could theoretically safely fall into a black hole if the black hole is large enough and completely isolated. A new report from The Conversation breaks down how this is even possible and it boils down to the idea that if a black hole's center is far enough away from its event horizon, a person could pass through the event horizon without the incredible gravitational pull that would otherwise kill them. This means that somebody could technically survive going into a black hole under the right conditions, but unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to return nor would they be able to report back their findings through any means. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=nasa-black-hole-gallery&captions=true"] Physicists Leo Rodriguez and Shanshan Rodriguez are both assistant professors of physics at Grinnell College and they explain how this successful trip through a black hole could happen safely in their report on The Conversation. There are two main types of black holes in the universe, according to them, and one is supermassive while the other is not. The supermassive black hole, by way of its sheer size, has a mass that's roughly 4 million times the mass of our Sun and has an event horizon with a radius of 7.3 million miles as a result. "Thus, someone falling into a stellar-size black hole (non-supermassive size) will get much, much closer to the black hole's center before passing the event horizon, as opposed to falling into a supermassive black hole," the two physicists write. A person falling into a stellar-size black hole will be much closer to the black hole's center when passing through the event horizon, which results in a gravitational pull so large that they will likely immediately die as they'll be stretched into a "long, thin noodle-like shape." A person falling into a supermassive black hole, however, would safely pass through, free of noodle-like stretching, because of how far away the event horizon is from the gravity-causing center of the black hole. This black hole would not only need to be supermassive, but completely isolated from any surrounding space material, gas, or stars as well. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/biggest-explosion-in-the-universe-detected"] As a result, they would theoretically safely pass through the event horizon. What happens after that would remain that person's secret because there'd be no way for them to pass along the knowledge of what they're seeing and feeling, and eventually, once close enough to the center of the black hole, they would meet their demise. Sounds like a much sadder ending than that of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and if you haven't yet watched that movie, you can read IGN's thoughts on it in our Interstellar review. For more black hole science, read this story about a black hole discovered to be the closest to Earth ever and then read about a black hole in the Milky Way seemingly changing the color of nearby stars. Check out this story about a black hole nine times larger than the Sun that's puling in space and time after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. He is morbidly curious about falling into a black hole. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Actor Christopher Plummer, star in The Sound of Music, Knives Out, and many other films, has died at age 91, Deadline reports.

Plummer, who played the role of father Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews, died peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, his family stated.

[caption id="attachment_2470155" align="alignnone" width="720"] Christopher Plummer as Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music.[/caption]

The Canadian actor got his start primarily in theater, before transitioning to television and film in the 1950’s. After numerous Broadway productions, including a stint as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Plummer helped make cinematic history in The Sound of Music as the widower father of the von Trapp family. The Sound of Music held the record for the highest-grossing film ever for five years and won multiple Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score, and more among other nominations.

Plummer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2011 for his role in the romantic dramedy Beginners. He won a Tony Award for best actor in a musical in 1974’s Cyrano and 1997’s Barrymore. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for his voiceover work in the Madeline series.

[caption id="attachment_2470156" align="alignnone" width="720"] Christopher Plummer as Harlan Thrombey in Knives Out.[/caption]

More recently, Plummer starred as the murder mystery writer and patriarch Harlan Thrombey in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out.

Plummer’s other notable roles include the villain Charles Muntz in Pixar’s Up,  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, 2017’s All the Money in the World (replacing Kevin Spacey), A Beautiful Mind, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, National Treasure, Malcolm X, The Man Who Would Be King, Waterloo, Twelve Monkeys, and numerous others.

Plummer also voiced the elder Greybeard Arngeir in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

What are your favorite Christopher Plummer movies? Let us know in the comments.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Actor Christopher Plummer, star in The Sound of Music, Knives Out, and many other films, has died at age 91, Deadline reports.

Plummer, who played the role of father Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews, died peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, his family stated.

[caption id="attachment_2470155" align="alignnone" width="720"] Christopher Plummer as Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music.[/caption]

The Canadian actor got his start primarily in theater, before transitioning to television and film in the 1950’s. After numerous Broadway productions, including a stint as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Plummer helped make cinematic history in The Sound of Music as the widower father of the von Trapp family. The Sound of Music held the record for the highest-grossing film ever for five years and won multiple Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score, and more among other nominations.

Plummer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2011 for his role in the romantic dramedy Beginners. He won a Tony Award for best actor in a musical in 1974’s Cyrano and 1997’s Barrymore. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for his voiceover work in the Madeline series.

[caption id="attachment_2470156" align="alignnone" width="720"] Christopher Plummer as Harlan Thrombey in Knives Out.[/caption]

More recently, Plummer starred as the murder mystery writer and patriarch Harlan Thrombey in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out.

Plummer’s other notable roles include the villain Charles Muntz in Pixar’s Up,  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, 2017’s All the Money in the World (replacing Kevin Spacey), A Beautiful Mind, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, National Treasure, Malcolm X, The Man Who Would Be King, Waterloo, Twelve Monkeys, and numerous others.

Plummer also voiced the elder Greybeard Arngeir in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

What are your favorite Christopher Plummer movies? Let us know in the comments.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Update 2/5: In addition to the two films in the works and a limited series TV show also being fast-tracked, another project around the GameStop stock moves has been revealed. Deadline reports that Console Wars director Jonah Tulis is working on a documentary around the events that saw GameStop and AMC stocks soar. No release date or filming plans have been announced, but the documentary joins the several projects around Hollywood aiming to capture the story of users on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit who shocked Wall Street earlier this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Update 2/1: As if two different GameStop stock movies weren't enough, Deadline is reporting a limited series TV series is also in the works from industry newcomer Pinky Promise. Tentatively titled, "To The Moon," the limited series is being fast-tracked through the development and will cover the r/WallStreetBets drama. This is the third project on the Wall Street news to go into development with the two others being films. The first is a film from MGM based on a book proposal by the author of The Social Network's inspiration, and the other movie will be from Netflix starring Noah Centineo written by the writer of The Hurt Locker. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Original Story: Soon after MGM announced a GameStop stock movie from the author of the book The Social Network was based on, Netflix is coming in with its own GameStop stock movie. Deadline reports that Netflix is talking with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty writer Mark Boal to write a movie based on the big financial conundrum. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star Noah Centineo is also attached to play a major role in the film. Centineo will also be seen in the upcoming Black Adam movie starring Dwayne Johnson as the character Atom Smasher. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gamestop-in-the-news-timeline&captions=true"] Netflix also tapped NYU professor Scott Galloway to serve as a consultant on the script. Galloway has been tweeting about the GameStop stock situation from his personal Twitter account. MGM already announced it acquired the film rights for a book proposal from New York Times author Ben Mezrich titled The Antisocial Network. Mezrich pitched the book proposal sometime last week and MGM bought the film rights on Friday. Mezrich is re-teaming with MGM’s Michael DeLuca who worked with him to adapt Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal, into the movie The Social Network directed by David Fincher. GameStop’s stock prices have surged in the past weeks from around $3 a share in 2020 to over 1,700% as short-sellers face the subreddit r/WallStreetBets in the financial sector. Other underperforming stocks like AMC and BlackBerry have surged as well on the backs of day traders from Reddit. The story of GameStop stock has rattled Wall Street and finance observers and has been called by the media a David vs. Goliath story. And given this intense interest, authors and filmmakers are moving in fast to capitalize on what is certainly one of the biggest and strangest news stories in 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Three years after Valve’s initial announcement of a partnership with Chinese MMO developer and publisher Perfect World to officially launch Steam in China, Valve is finally preparing to launch its client in beta at last next month. But after years of Steam’s unofficial existence in a legal gray area in the country for millions of users, there’s a chance its global client -- and all the unlicensed games users have bought and played on it to date -- might not survive the transition.

According to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad on Twitter, the two companies have announced a public beta for February 9, which will include just two games: the Valve-published DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In a separate statement to IGN, he added that around 30 more games were planned for release "in the near term" and even more are planned beyond that.

Chinese players can sign up for Steam China either with new accounts or using existing Steam Global accounts, though if they use existing accounts the only games that will cross over into their Steam China libraries will be those that are licensed in China -- so for the beta, just DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. And, he added, once Steam China launches in beta, users will no longer be able to play either title on the Steam Global client, instead being forced to switch to official client to continue playing. While future titles are not expected to follow suit and should be available across both clients, this is contingent on one major factor: the continued availability of Steam Global in China alongside Steam China official.

How Steam Operated in China Previously

The road to get an official version of Steam in China has been a long one, and its upcoming release raises some concerns about the future of Steam games in the country. That’s because while Steam’s global client has been available in China for years, its presence there is unofficial and unregulated by the Chinese government, which otherwise has strict policies about what games can and cannot be released in the country.

Under normal circumstances, for a game to release in China it must meet a number of different standards set by the government, including adhering to Chinese social values, avoiding “misrepresentation” of history, politics, and law, not including anything resembling gambling, and having anti-addiction systems to curb the amount of playtime and money spend from minors.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/dota-underlords-season-one-trailer"]

This process has become even stricter in recent years, following a 2018 government freeze on all new game license approvals and a set of new regulations that sought to reduce the total number of games approved for release in the country each year. The freeze lifted in 2019, but analytics firm Niko Partners has noted that the total number of game approvals is much lower than it was in the past -- though Niko notes this has primarily impacted the number of “low-quality copycat games” and gambling focused titles launching.

It is for these reasons, among others, that Steam’s global client has done so well in China. As of late 2018, the platform had 30 million total users in China, seemingly thanks to the government freeze on new game approvals leaving Steam as the easiest venue to play new games in the country. And while formal numbers have not been issued since then, the number of Steam users in China only seems to have risen in recent years. As of January 2020, Simplified Chinese had grown to be the dominant language among all Steam users worldwide.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=For%20years%2C%20Steam%20has%20operated%20in%20a%20legal%20grey%20area%20in%20China%20where%20games%20that%20are%20otherwise%20not%20permitted%20can%20be%20purchased%20and%20played"]

For years, Steam has operated in a legal grey area in China where, while certain community features are blocked by the government, games that are otherwise not permitted for release in the country can be purchased and played. But as PC Gamer found out through interviews with numerous Chinese developers in 2019, no one is sure why China has not cracked down on Steam (and now the Epic Games Store’s) operations.

Valve Partners With Perfect World

Enter Perfect World, which announced its partnership with Valve to launch a dedicated Steam China client way back in 2018, following successful prior partnerships to officially launch both DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in China. Since the initial announcement, there have been very few details about how Steam China would actually work. An alpha client for Steam China became accessible in 2019, but no servers were live and thus no games were able to be played -- and it was mostly the same as the regular Steam client anyway.

A press presentation in China later that year gave an update. According to a Eurogamer interview with Valve’s DJ Powers at the event, games planned for launch on Steam in China include not just DOTA 2, but also DOTA Underlords, and third-party titles like FTL, Raft, Subnautica, Euro Truck Simulator 2, and many others -- all of which would be licensed by the Chinese government for release on the platform. This would ultimately be a net positive for the developers whose games would be a part of the official release. Due to the need for a local partner, it can be difficult for international titles to receive official approval in China, making Steam China a potentially simpler avenue for those whose games qualified. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/03/dota-underlords-trailer"]

It could also serve as an opportunity for local developers to have their games highlighted worldwide. Valve said at the event that it did not intend for any Steam China games to end up as exclusives, meaning if local developers could gain approval on Steam China, their games would also be released to international audiences via the global client, potentially gaining more traction and interest as a result.

In the same Eurogamer interview, Valve also expressed hope that all of its global social features would be added to Steam China. Both then and now, these features remain the one element of Steam’s global client that does not function correctly for Chinese users. That said, Valve could not at the time confirm for certain what these would look like in the final release.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20direction%20%5BValve%20is%5D%20headed%20is%20that%20Steam%20global%20remains%20as%20it%20is%20today."]

When asked if the launch of Steam China would inevitably mean Steam’s global client would become inaccessible in the country, thus cutting off access in the country to any game not officially licensed, Powers said that “nothing will change” about Steam global -- at least not on Valve’s end. The goal in launching a dedicated client for China, he said, was simply to give users access to local benefits: localized titles, local servers, and community features.

But could something external, such as the government, put a stop to Steam’s regular client?

“I mean, anything, yeah,” Powers replied. “There's always externalities you can't control. But the direction we're headed is that Steam global remains as it is today.”

Will China Tolerate Two Steams?

This brings us to today. At the start of 2021, Valve confirmed it would be launching the client in China early this year, and the client was trialed at an esports carnival back in January. Now, with the beta on the horizon, the question of whether Steam’s global client will be allowed to continue to exist in China has once again arisen.

Though there has been no official indication that Steam’s global client might be shut down, the ongoing regulatory crackdown from the Chinese government does not bode well for its continued existence, especially once an approved alternative is available. Even if Valve makes good on Powers’ remarks and continues running Steam’s global client in China, the Chinese government could block it at any time, forcing users to access it through VPNs or other backdoor means. That would mean users who already own and play unapproved games through that client could lose access.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Even%20if%20Valve%20continues%20running%20Steam%E2%80%99s%20global%20client%20in%20China%2C%20the%20government%20could%20block%20it%20at%20any%20time"]

Were this to happen, it wouldn’t be the first time the Chinese government has gotten involved in Steam content. Last year, it blocked a game called Coronavirus Attack from appearing in China through the global version of Steam -- likely because, as its creator said, it was made as a protest against the Chinese government. And before that, Taiwanese studio Red Candle Games saw its title Devotion removed from Steam entirely after a poster was found in the game mocking Chinese President Xi Jinping. Its publisher Indievent later had its business license revoked in the country as a direct result of the incident, and has since struggled to re-release the game, even on other platforms.

Additionally, as Ahmad pointed out to IGN, other platforms are being impacted by China's crackdown lately as well. In the past year, Apple has removed over 100,000 games from the App Store in China, all unlicensed. Though these games have required licenses since 2016, loopholes had allowed them to be published anyway, until now.

When asked about the future of Steam Global in China, Ahmad affirmed that there wasn't a clear answer.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=It%20is%20an%20uneven%20playing%20field%20now%20if%20only%20some%20developers%20play%20by%20the%20rules%20of%20allowing%20Chinese%20gamers%20to%20access%20only%20games%20that%20acquired%20%5Ba%20license%5D"]

"Regulators may block it, and that would be bad for domestic and foreign developers who access gamers over that platform," he said. "Then again, it is an uneven playing field now if only some developers play by the rules of allowing Chinese gamers to access only games that acquired [a license].

"Chinese gamers are resourceful to be sure: if they want to keep playing on Steam International, they will use a VPN or other means to do so. Ultimately it is the duty of the developers to abide by the rules in China or be at risk for being cut off from that lucrative market – the largest in the world."

In light of all this, the question of what the official release of Steam in China means for dedicated Steam users in the country remains an open one. While local developers and international studios whose games can meet approval requirements may ultimately stand to benefit, concerns remain that existing users who have poured time and money into the platform over the years may end up having to jump through hoops to access their game collections if the Chinese government decides to shut the whole thing down -- or they may lose access entirely.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-modern-pc-games-summer-2020-update&captions=true"]

In truth, this problem has existed for years -- ever since Steam became accessible in China, there has always been the question of whether or not it would be allowed to continue unsanctioned, but tolerated. Now, with the official Steam China release on the way, Steam Global’s existence in the country may well be on borrowed time. Unfortunately, as with the sudden decisions to block Twitch in 2018 and any number of other international websites over the years, it seems unlikely that there will be any certainty on Steam Global’s fate in China until and unless it is taken down.

IGN reached out to both Valve and Perfect World for comment, but neither responded in time for publication.

This piece was updated after its initial publication to include additional commentary and context from Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad.

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Three years after Valve’s initial announcement of a partnership with Chinese MMO developer and publisher Perfect World to officially launch Steam in China, Valve is finally preparing to launch its client in beta at last next month. But after years of Steam’s unofficial existence in a legal gray area in the country for millions of users, there’s a chance its global client -- and all the unlicensed games users have bought and played on it to date -- might not survive the transition.

According to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad on Twitter, the two companies have announced a public beta for February 9, which will include just two games: the Valve-published DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In a separate statement to IGN, he added that around 30 more games were planned for release "in the near term" and even more are planned beyond that.

Chinese players can sign up for Steam China either with new accounts or using existing Steam Global accounts, though if they use existing accounts the only games that will cross over into their Steam China libraries will be those that are licensed in China -- so for the beta, just DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. And, he added, once Steam China launches in beta, users will no longer be able to play either title on the Steam Global client, instead being forced to switch to official client to continue playing. While future titles are not expected to follow suit and should be available across both clients, this is contingent on one major factor: the continued availability of Steam Global in China alongside Steam China official.

How Steam Operated in China Previously

The road to get an official version of Steam in China has been a long one, and its upcoming release raises some concerns about the future of Steam games in the country. That’s because while Steam’s global client has been available in China for years, its presence there is unofficial and unregulated by the Chinese government, which otherwise has strict policies about what games can and cannot be released in the country.

Under normal circumstances, for a game to release in China it must meet a number of different standards set by the government, including adhering to Chinese social values, avoiding “misrepresentation” of history, politics, and law, not including anything resembling gambling, and having anti-addiction systems to curb the amount of playtime and money spend from minors.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/dota-underlords-season-one-trailer"]

This process has become even stricter in recent years, following a 2018 government freeze on all new game license approvals and a set of new regulations that sought to reduce the total number of games approved for release in the country each year. The freeze lifted in 2019, but analytics firm Niko Partners has noted that the total number of game approvals is much lower than it was in the past -- though Niko notes this has primarily impacted the number of “low-quality copycat games” and gambling focused titles launching.

It is for these reasons, among others, that Steam’s global client has done so well in China. As of late 2018, the platform had 30 million total users in China, seemingly thanks to the government freeze on new game approvals leaving Steam as the easiest venue to play new games in the country. And while formal numbers have not been issued since then, the number of Steam users in China only seems to have risen in recent years. As of January 2020, Simplified Chinese had grown to be the dominant language among all Steam users worldwide.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=For%20years%2C%20Steam%20has%20operated%20in%20a%20legal%20grey%20area%20in%20China%20where%20games%20that%20are%20otherwise%20not%20permitted%20can%20be%20purchased%20and%20played"]

For years, Steam has operated in a legal grey area in China where, while certain community features are blocked by the government, games that are otherwise not permitted for release in the country can be purchased and played. But as PC Gamer found out through interviews with numerous Chinese developers in 2019, no one is sure why China has not cracked down on Steam (and now the Epic Games Store’s) operations.

Valve Partners With Perfect World

Enter Perfect World, which announced its partnership with Valve to launch a dedicated Steam China client way back in 2018, following successful prior partnerships to officially launch both DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in China. Since the initial announcement, there have been very few details about how Steam China would actually work. An alpha client for Steam China became accessible in 2019, but no servers were live and thus no games were able to be played -- and it was mostly the same as the regular Steam client anyway.

A press presentation in China later that year gave an update. According to a Eurogamer interview with Valve’s DJ Powers at the event, games planned for launch on Steam in China include not just DOTA 2, but also DOTA Underlords, and third-party titles like FTL, Raft, Subnautica, Euro Truck Simulator 2, and many others -- all of which would be licensed by the Chinese government for release on the platform. This would ultimately be a net positive for the developers whose games would be a part of the official release. Due to the need for a local partner, it can be difficult for international titles to receive official approval in China, making Steam China a potentially simpler avenue for those whose games qualified. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/03/dota-underlords-trailer"]

It could also serve as an opportunity for local developers to have their games highlighted worldwide. Valve said at the event that it did not intend for any Steam China games to end up as exclusives, meaning if local developers could gain approval on Steam China, their games would also be released to international audiences via the global client, potentially gaining more traction and interest as a result.

In the same Eurogamer interview, Valve also expressed hope that all of its global social features would be added to Steam China. Both then and now, these features remain the one element of Steam’s global client that does not function correctly for Chinese users. That said, Valve could not at the time confirm for certain what these would look like in the final release.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20direction%20%5BValve%20is%5D%20headed%20is%20that%20Steam%20global%20remains%20as%20it%20is%20today."]

When asked if the launch of Steam China would inevitably mean Steam’s global client would become inaccessible in the country, thus cutting off access in the country to any game not officially licensed, Powers said that “nothing will change” about Steam global -- at least not on Valve’s end. The goal in launching a dedicated client for China, he said, was simply to give users access to local benefits: localized titles, local servers, and community features.

But could something external, such as the government, put a stop to Steam’s regular client?

“I mean, anything, yeah,” Powers replied. “There's always externalities you can't control. But the direction we're headed is that Steam global remains as it is today.”

Will China Tolerate Two Steams?

This brings us to today. At the start of 2021, Valve confirmed it would be launching the client in China early this year, and the client was trialed at an esports carnival back in January. Now, with the beta on the horizon, the question of whether Steam’s global client will be allowed to continue to exist in China has once again arisen.

Though there has been no official indication that Steam’s global client might be shut down, the ongoing regulatory crackdown from the Chinese government does not bode well for its continued existence, especially once an approved alternative is available. Even if Valve makes good on Powers’ remarks and continues running Steam’s global client in China, the Chinese government could block it at any time, forcing users to access it through VPNs or other backdoor means. That would mean users who already own and play unapproved games through that client could lose access.

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Were this to happen, it wouldn’t be the first time the Chinese government has gotten involved in Steam content. Last year, it blocked a game called Coronavirus Attack from appearing in China through the global version of Steam -- likely because, as its creator said, it was made as a protest against the Chinese government. And before that, Taiwanese studio Red Candle Games saw its title Devotion removed from Steam entirely after a poster was found in the game mocking Chinese President Xi Jinping. Its publisher Indievent later had its business license revoked in the country as a direct result of the incident, and has since struggled to re-release the game, even on other platforms.

Additionally, as Ahmad pointed out to IGN, other platforms are being impacted by China's crackdown lately as well. In the past year, Apple has removed over 100,000 games from the App Store in China, all unlicensed. Though these games have required licenses since 2016, loopholes had allowed them to be published anyway, until now.

When asked about the future of Steam Global in China, Ahmad affirmed that there wasn't a clear answer.

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"Regulators may block it, and that would be bad for domestic and foreign developers who access gamers over that platform," he said. "Then again, it is an uneven playing field now if only some developers play by the rules of allowing Chinese gamers to access only games that acquired [a license].

"Chinese gamers are resourceful to be sure: if they want to keep playing on Steam International, they will use a VPN or other means to do so. Ultimately it is the duty of the developers to abide by the rules in China or be at risk for being cut off from that lucrative market – the largest in the world."

In light of all this, the question of what the official release of Steam in China means for dedicated Steam users in the country remains an open one. While local developers and international studios whose games can meet approval requirements may ultimately stand to benefit, concerns remain that existing users who have poured time and money into the platform over the years may end up having to jump through hoops to access their game collections if the Chinese government decides to shut the whole thing down -- or they may lose access entirely.

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In truth, this problem has existed for years -- ever since Steam became accessible in China, there has always been the question of whether or not it would be allowed to continue unsanctioned, but tolerated. Now, with the official Steam China release on the way, Steam Global’s existence in the country may well be on borrowed time. Unfortunately, as with the sudden decisions to block Twitch in 2018 and any number of other international websites over the years, it seems unlikely that there will be any certainty on Steam Global’s fate in China until and unless it is taken down.

IGN reached out to both Valve and Perfect World for comment, but neither responded in time for publication.

This piece was updated after its initial publication to include additional commentary and context from Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Ubisoft has announced that the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake has been delayed again, this time without a clear new release date in mind. The developers of the remake released a statement on Twitter, explaining that "we have made the decision to shift the release for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake to a later date. This extra development time will enable our teams to deliver a remake that feels fresh while remaining faithful to the original." The remake had been previously scheduled for a March 18 release, which it had been delayed to after plans for a January 2021 release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-delay-announced-in-2021&captions=true"]

Another update from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake dev team: pic.twitter.com/O6OOmYXhOD

— Prince of Persia (@princeofpersia) February 5, 2021

Ubisoft first announced the Sands of Time Remake at its Ubisoft Forward event in September, confirming it would be using the Assassin's Creed Anvil engine and would see the return of actor Yuri Lowenthal as the Prince. In December, Ubisoft announced the remake's push from January to March, citing the unpredictable development hurdles in the face of COVID-19 and its impact on 2020, saying "However, 2020 has been a year like no other. Today we wanted to let you know that we are taking additional time to work on the game….We believe this is the right call to ensure we deliver a game you will enjoy." With this latest delay, there is no new release date or window, but Ubisoft says it will keep players "posted on the progress." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/10/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-remake-official-reveal-trailer"] IGN’s original Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time review called the game “a must own -- a soon-to-be-classic worthy of a permanent place in your collection.” The remake is set to cost $39.99 and be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Epic Games Store, the Ubisoft store on Windows, and UPlay+. And there are still no announced plans for PS5 or Xbox Series X versions of the game, but it will be playable on next-gen console via backward compatibility. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Ubisoft has announced that the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake has been delayed again, this time without a clear new release date in mind. The developers of the remake released a statement on Twitter, explaining that "we have made the decision to shift the release for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake to a later date. This extra development time will enable our teams to deliver a remake that feels fresh while remaining faithful to the original." The remake had been previously scheduled for a March 18 release, which it had been delayed to after plans for a January 2021 release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-delay-announced-in-2021&captions=true"]

Another update from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake dev team: pic.twitter.com/O6OOmYXhOD

— Prince of Persia (@princeofpersia) February 5, 2021

Ubisoft first announced the Sands of Time Remake at its Ubisoft Forward event in September, confirming it would be using the Assassin's Creed Anvil engine and would see the return of actor Yuri Lowenthal as the Prince. In December, Ubisoft announced the remake's push from January to March, citing the unpredictable development hurdles in the face of COVID-19 and its impact on 2020, saying "However, 2020 has been a year like no other. Today we wanted to let you know that we are taking additional time to work on the game….We believe this is the right call to ensure we deliver a game you will enjoy." With this latest delay, there is no new release date or window, but Ubisoft says it will keep players "posted on the progress." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/10/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-remake-official-reveal-trailer"] IGN’s original Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time review called the game “a must own -- a soon-to-be-classic worthy of a permanent place in your collection.” The remake is set to cost $39.99 and be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Epic Games Store, the Ubisoft store on Windows, and UPlay+. And there are still no announced plans for PS5 or Xbox Series X versions of the game, but it will be playable on next-gen console via backward compatibility. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.