Rare are the days when I get to write about Xbox in China, so even though this isn’t exactly groundbreaking news or something I can dig in too deep, I still couldn’t pass on the opportunity.
Xbox’s status in China right now, as is the case in most of the world, is pretty anemic at best. It’s a sad state of affairs, as I believe that a competitive market with different sides battling it out for market dominance fuels creativity and ultimately enables better games to be born.
As a side note, and for those unaware, the Xbox 360 was actually somewhat popular in China during its peak years. That was also during the period when consoles were officially banned in the country, but regardless, imports would still flood “grey market” stores. I personally saw how present the 360 was at the time, as I lived in Tianjin during 2008/2009 and used to visit gaming stores there and in Beijing.
But anyway, those are tales from other times, for another time…
So…Xbox has updated its PC Xbox app integrating NetEase’s UU accelerator. You can read the original announcement here.
UU is a commonly used service (mostly) in China for gamers to have better connection speeds to play online games (and overcome the Great Chinese Firewall, legally). Not only it increases connection speeds and makes them more stable (lower ping), it is actually necessary to play some specific games. While online services on Xbox (and other consoles) are easily accessible using standard local Chinese connections, some online-intensive games simply won’t connect unless the user has an accelerator (such as UU) or some other kind of VPN enabled connection. UU however is not a replacement for VPNs in China - you can’t really use UU to access banned websites or apps. It’s really very gaming-focused.
UU (and similar options) is compatible with mobile devices, PlayStation, Switch, PC and Xbox consoles. However, this is the first official integration from a console maker (Microsoft/Xbox) with NetEase’s widely used service (as far as I know).
The timing of the announcement is strategic, as it was made just a few days before the start of the Chinese New Year holiday period. As it happens during most non-working holidays, people have more time to stay at home and play videogames, and therefore, UU will come in handy.
This partnership highlights both Xbox’s and NetEase understanding of real needs from Chinese gamers. In particular PC gamers playing competitive online multiplayer games.
While UU is an openly sold/distributed service, its regulatory status remains somewhat ambiguous and nebulous. The booster is allowing users to connect/login with digital platforms/networks/servers/APIs that otherwise the Great Firewall of China would gate them from.
Technically not illegal (maybe?), but it does fall into that “grey space” where authorities just mostly dismiss/ignore something, as long as it is not socially disruptive (according to the CCP principles…).
About NetEase: NetEase is one of the biggest gaming companies in the world. As a Chinese company, its influence and market reach has historically been mostly focused in China, but the company has extended its influence worldwide in recent years. Games like Marvel Rivals, Where Winds Meet, Sword of Justice and many more are NetEase’s. The company also owns international development studios (such as Quantic Dream) and has worked with many big international IPs.
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