The latest data from Steam‘s monthly hardware and software survey has revealed that Simplified Chinese has become the primary language on the gaming platform, accounting for 32.84% of players in February. The shift may be attributed to a substantial increase in Chinese gamers taking to the site during China’s Lunar New Year holiday (Feb. 9 – Feb. 16).
Why it matters: The language trend reflects the growing influence of Simplified Chinese-reading players within the Steam community, and highlights strong demand for the Steam platform and PC games in the Chinese market.
Details: Steam conducts a monthly optional and anonymous survey to gather data on the computer hardware and software utilized by its customers. This information aids the platform in determining investment priorities for developing new technologies and offering products. In February, the top five most commonly used languages among Steam players based on this survey were Simplified Chinese at 32.84%, English at 32.12%, Russian at 9.27%, Spanish at 4.10%, and Portuguese at 3.45%.
- This language ranking marks the second time Simplified Chinese has topped the charts, with the first instance dating back to the popularity of the multiplayer online battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in 2017, when Simplified Chinese players accounted for over 60% of Steam’s user base, according to local media outlet IThome.
- Operating system: Windows 10 remains the most widely used system among Steam users, accounting for a significant 54.19%. Despite the release of Windows 11 in October 2021, players may be choosing to continue using Windows 10 due to considerations of stability and compatibility.
- Hardware configuration: 49.04% of players’ computers have 16GB of system memory, making this the most prevalent setup. As gaming hardware demands rise, 16GB of memory has become the standard for ensuring smooth gameplay across a majority of gaming titles.
- Display resolution: The majority of players, some 58.82%, prefer a resolution of 1920 x 1080. This data indicates that 1080p remains the mainstream choice for gamers, despite the gradual popularity of 4K resolution. For most players, 1080p offers a more cost-effective option.
- Graphics card: The RTX 3060 has become the most widely used graphics card with a 6% share, suggesting the widespread popularity of Nvidia’s RTX30 series graphics cards due to their performance and ray-tracing technology.
Context: The US currently leads in the number of Steam users, with 13.7 million people using the platform to share and play games, while China follows closely as the second-highest user base, with 11.4 million users, according to World Population Review.
- The most played Steam games of 2023 (where the peak player count exceeded 300,000) include titles such as Apex Legends, Baldur’s Gate 3, Counter-Strike 2, Destiny 2, Dota 2, Goose Goose Duck, Hogwarts Legacy, Lost Ark, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Sons Of The Forest, and Starfield. While not exclusively a Chinese game, PUBG: Battlegrounds was published and distributed in China by Tencent Games.
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