NetEase will launch a store in China with cheap games from foreign developers
A new digital game store will be launched in China. Its owner NetEase plans to sell foreign games to Chinese consumers.
Deep Rock Galactic and TerraTech
The new venue will be called Fever Game.
This is reported by Gamesindustry.biz with a link to Game Grape.
The following is known about the store:
- it will feature games from foreign studios published by NetEase;
- the library will have indie, AA and AAA titles;
- nevertheless, Fever Game will focus on simple and inexpensive projects;
- Two games are already available on the platform: TerraTech (Payload Studios) and Deep Rock Galactic (Ghost Shop Games). They cost $8.5 (520 rubles).
Apparently, Fever Game is not a competitor to the WeGame gaming store from Tencent, Steam or the future Steam China. This is also confirmed by Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad. According to him, the portal “does not correspond too much” to the level of the named platforms.
However, NetEase revealed two advantages of the store. These are affordable prices for games and high-quality support for players. But it is unclear how and when the latter will be implemented. There are too few games on the platform right now and a noticeable lack of features, Ahmad notes.
NetEase is a Chinese gaming giant and a direct competitor to Tencent. Following the latter, it is trying to gain a share in the streaming services market with NetEase Cloud Games, and now in the digital distribution market.
Note that since the temporary suspension of licensing in China, NetEase has been investing more and more funds in projects related to foreign game development. For example, it acquires shares in foreign developers (Quantic Dream) and negotiates with large companies (Marvel and Pokémon) to publish games popular in the West in China. Creating a store with games from abroad also fits into the strategy of this publisher.
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