Valve announced at GDC 2025 that Simplified Chinese has become the most-used language on Steam, marking a significant milestone for the platform. According to their report, 33.7% of Steam users now set Simplified Chinese as their primary language, edging past English at 33.5%.
This shift comes amid explosive growth for the platform, which has seen concurrent users nearly double from 23 million in 2020 to 41 million in 2024. The rise of Chinese as Steam’s dominant language reflects China’s expanding influence in the global gaming market.
Several key games helped fuel this transformation. Titles like It Takes Two and Human Fall Flat found massive success with Chinese players.
However, the release of Black Myth: Wukong—an action RPG based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West—proved particularly influential in driving new Chinese users to the platform.
Valve’s strategic decisions played a crucial role in this demographic shift. The company capitalized on the massive popularity of PUBG in Asia while implementing regional pricing and supporting local payment methods in China. These moves helped convert many players from piracy to legitimate purchases on Steam.
Other top languages on Steam
The platform now features a diverse linguistic landscape beyond the top two languages. Russian (8.2%), Spanish (4.6%), and Brazilian Portuguese (2.8%) round out the most common language settings on Steam.
Chinese gamers have increasingly embraced homegrown titles that feature cultural elements that are familiar to them. This preference reflects growing national pride in the Chinese game development industry, which has rapidly advanced in recent years.
Industry analysts predict that Chinese language usage on Steam will continue growing as China’s gaming market expands. This shift may encourage Western developers to increase their focus on localizing content for Chinese players, potentially reshaping how games are designed and marketed globally.
