Games

A screenshot of Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming, a strategy mobile and browser game by Chinese game developer Yoozoo.

Police probe poisoning case after Game of Thrones game CEO falls ill

Yoozoo, known as the game developer of Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming, said its founder and CEO has been hospitalised after the Shanghai police announced an investigation into a suspected poisoning case.

24 Dec 2020 - 2:50PM
The Indonesian team competes in an esports match as an exhibition sport at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on August 28, 2018. Photo: AFP

Gamers can win official medals at Asian Games 2022

After debuting as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games, esports finally wins approval to be included as an official event in 2022.

7 Jan 2022 - 2:47PM
A video game system from Chinese console maker Subor. The product is widely known for its resemblance with the Famicom, the original Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Photo: Weibo

Iconic bootleg console maker in China faces bankruptcy

Children living in China in the 1980s grew up playing Subor’s Nintendo knock-offs and iconic “learning machines”.

9 Nov 2020 - 5:00PM
More than 300 researchers and scholars gathered for the International Conference on Distributed Artificial Intelligence held in the video game Justice on October 24-27, 2020. Image: NetEase Games

AI scientists meet in a kung fu video game amid pandemic

NetEase repurposed a scene from its hit MMORPG Justice so AI scientists could meet and share their research after Covid-19 spoiled the real-world event.

28 Oct 2020 - 9:46AM
Among Us, created by US indie studio InnerSloth, launched in June 2018, but it only became a viral sensation during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020. Image: Handout

Among Us is all the rage, but Chinese gamers just see ‘Space Werewolf’

The latest breakout game amid the Covid-19 pandemic follows a format that is better known among Chinese gamers as Werewolf.

22 Oct 2020 - 3:38AM
Peacekeeper Elite, also known as Game for Peace, is Tencent’s sanitised makeover of the battle royale game PUBG Mobile. By making the game more patriotic and removing blood and death, Tencent was finally able to make revenue from the game in its home market. Image: Tencent/Handout

Xiaomi’s RAM drive for smartphones gives gamers a speed boost

Xiaomi is allowing Mi 10 Ultra owners to use their RAM as storage to speed up games.

6 Oct 2020 - 3:30PM
FILE - This Jan. 16, 2020 file photo shows a Uniper energy company coal-fired power plant and a BP refinery beside a wind generator in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists announced Thursday, June 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Sony wants to let you know that gaming is good for the planet

A PlayStation-sponsored study looks at the carbon footprint of gamers.

29 Sep 2020 - 11:06PM
Nearly half of all gamers in China are women, but they contribute to less than a quarter of industry revenue in the country. Picture: Shutterstock

‘Always men’: the sexism problem in China’s gaming industry

Sexism in gaming is common worldwide but more openly tolerated in China, where feminism is silenced and stigmatised.

9 Oct 2020 - 12:59PM
Pro Evolution Soccer 2021 is a season update. Image: Konami

Review | PES 2021 review: still the best football game around

With the focus on the upcoming PlayStation 5, developers release a pared-back follow-up to critically acclaimed PES 2020.

29 Sep 2020 - 3:49PM
The Sony PlayStation logo is seen during the Tokyo Game Show in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture in September 2019. Sony's eagerly awaited PlayStation 5 will launch in November 2020, taking on a new offering by console rival Xbox as video game play booms during the pandemic. Photo: AFP

PlayStation 5 is coming soon, but not to China

The next-generation Sony console arrives worldwide in November, except in mainland China, where some gamers are scouring e-commerce sites for imports.

18 Sep 2020 - 2:25AM
Peacekeeper Elite, also known as Game for Peace, is a censored version of PUBG Mobile just for China. It’s a first-person shooter without blood or death. Image: Tencent

Chinese PUBG Mobile called out for privacy issues

Popular mobile games are being called out for violating user privacy during China’s internet clean-up campaign.

15 Sep 2020 - 9:22PM
Customers cycle past a newly-opened Ikea store in Chengdu, China, on November 29, 2006. Photo: AFP

Ikea’s new gaming furniture will first launch in China

Ikea is developing about 30 gaming-related products in Shanghai that will go on sale in February 2021, followed by worldwide release later in the year.

15 Sep 2020 - 11:03PM
Tell Me Why, a narrative adventure game that features a transgender protagonist, is available on Xbox and PC. Image: Dontnod

Tell Me Why: Game featuring transgender man is unavailable in China

Dedicated Chinese gamers are upset that they can’t play Tell Me Why, a niche, story-heavy game with content considered sensitive.

11 Sep 2020 - 4:40AM
With China’s gaming market becoming saturated, some studios see female gamers as the next big market. Photo: AFP

Stereotypes still rife in Chinese games designed for women

A virtual boyfriend dating sim kicked off a wave of games in China designed specifically for female gamers.

7 Sep 2020 - 9:49PM
A man looks at the download page for PUBG Mobile, owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, in Apple’s App Store on an iPhone in New Delhi on September 2. Photo: AFP

‘We don’t know what‘ll happen next’: PUBG Mobile ban vexes Indian gamers

India bans PUBG Mobile, PUBG Mobile Lite and more than 100 other mobile apps over security and sovereignty concerns

3 Sep 2020 - 10:02PM
The trailer for Black Myth: Wukong has been praised for its highly detailed visuals. Photo: Handout

Sexually explicit comments from Black Myth: Wukong CEO spark controversy

Comments from Game Science founder and CEO Feng Ji ignited a debate about the mistreatment of female gamers.

27 Aug 2020 - 8:00PM
Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to point out footage from the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer. Photo: Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is censored over Tiananmen crackdown clip

Chinese streaming platforms edited the trailer for the next highly anticipated Call of Duty game, cutting out a second-long clip of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

25 Aug 2020 - 1:36AM
Bilibili says it will publish of a mobile version of Fall Guys in China. Picture: Handout

Fall Guys is coming to smartphones in China after success on PC and PS4

Fall Guys, from British studio Mediatonic, has become a summer sensation after launching in August on PC and PlayStation 4.

25 Aug 2020 - 10:28AM
The hit Nintendo Switch exercise game Ring Fit Adventure is finally getting an official release in China. Photo: Captured from Weibo

Ring Fit Adventure pre-orders suspended in China ahead of official release

JD.com and Tmall received tens of thousands of pre-orders for Ring Fit Adventure before suspending the option on their platforms on Friday.

22 Aug 2020 - 1:42PM
WeChat data shows mini game players are split evenly between men and women. Photo: Shutterstock

How WeChat turned Chinese parents into gamers

Low-skill casual games within China’s favourite chat app are upending stereotypes about what it means to be a gamer.

21 Aug 2020 - 10:40AM