China’s Steam Flood: Cheap Games, Bad Translations, and the Death of Quality

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Why Steam Feels Like a Bargain Bin—and What the Rest of Us Are Supposed to Do About It

Oi, Steam junkies. If you’re sick of scrolling past a million knockoff RPGs, waifu simulators, and “parenting” games that look like they were made in a weekend, you’re not alone. Steam’s become the dumping ground for every cheap Chinese game you never asked for. Let’s break down why this is happening, why most of it’s garbage, and what—if anything—anyone can actually learn from this mess. But first a word from our sponsor:

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What’s Filling Up Your Steam Store?

Look at the front page: “Chinese Parents” (parenting sim with Pokémon grind, but you play as a disappointment), “Tales of Wuxia” (martial arts RPG with more bugs than features), “Dragon Cliff,” “Touhou” knockoffs, and a hundred more. If it’s not a gacha trap, it’s a soulless grindfest or a waifu clicker with Google Translate English. Only “Genshin Impact” looks like it had a real budget and a translator who passed high school English.

Why Are These Games Successful (and So Damn Cheap)?

• Flood the Market: When you’ve got half of Steam’s users speaking Chinese, you can shovel out any game and it’ll sell. Quality? Who cares. Quantity is king.

• Race to the Bottom Pricing: Chinese gamers expect cheap games, so devs slap on a bargain price and hope for volume sales. If you’re used to paying $60 for a real game, tough luck—now everything’s $5 and feels like it.

• Mobile Game Mentality: Most of these devs cut their teeth on mobile, so they know how to keep you grinding, watching ads, or spending on microtransactions. Fun? Optional.

• No Real Oversight: Steam’s become a free-for-all, so you get asset flips, shovelware, and “experimental” garbage flooding the store.

Why Is the Translation So Bad?

Because they don’t care. English is an afterthought. Most of these games are made for the home crowd, and the translation is just enough to get it listed on Steam. If you want to actually understand the story, good luck. Unless it’s “Genshin Impact” (which had a global launch plan and real money behind it), you’re reading Google Translate’s greatest hits.

What Should Designers and Marketers Actually Learn?

• Localization Isn’t Optional: If you want anyone outside China to take you seriously, hire a real translator. Otherwise, expect your game to be a meme for all the wrong reasons.

• Quality Still Matters (Somewhere): Sure, you can make money with shovelware if your audience doesn’t care. But if you want a real global hit, you need polish, not just a flood of content.

• Culture Doesn’t Always Translate: Just because something works in China doesn’t mean it’ll work everywhere. “Chinese Parents” might be a hit at home, but most Western gamers don’t want to relive their childhood trauma in broken English.

What Do Gamers Think?

• Western Gamers: “Why is my Steam store full of games I can’t read or don’t want?” Because you’re not the main target anymore. Suck it up.

• Chinese Gamers: “Hey, at least we finally get games for us.” Good for them, but the rest of us are drowning in mediocrity.

• Everyone Else: “Is Steam even curating anything anymore?” Nope. Welcome to the wild west, where anything goes and quality is optional.

TL;DR:
Steam’s become a dumping ground for cheap, badly translated Chinese games. If you want quality, you’ll have to dig for it. If you’re a dev, localization and polish still matter—unless you’re happy selling to the lowest common denominator. And if you’re a gamer, get ready to scroll past a lot of trash to find your next favorite game.

Pok Gai out.