You can try monitoring installations using third-party software that track any modified/created files. You could also install games in a VM first or exclusively but that can get more technical and requires proper set-up. The simplest way is to just use a properly-configured firewall(simplewall is a good third-party solution for many people). Ultimately the most effective way is to just unplug the internet(and of course disable any wireless transmissions like wifi).

I ask this because of White Wolf's note about kernel-level rootkit for Highguard. I had installed it, played it, and deleted it. But is there a way to know it's all off my machine and nothing is left lingering?

What's especially interesting and disturbing is that Highguard uses a kernel-level rootkit with constant access to their servers, while having deep access(kernel, which is higher than admin) to your system incl. hardware, documents, running processes etc. Then realise that EAC is owned by Epic Games who are heavily involved with China. The TLDR; you are giving them full access to your system while transmitting any data they want to their servers. Anyone that falls for this will need to pay for the potential consequences down the line!!! Already far too many red flags for me.

That's fair. I just thought people might not follow them as well, or even realise that China is involved with Epic.

@White Wolf There are already other curators that track EOS and EAC which I have also folowed for some time, I feel it would be obsolete for me to add them.
https://testx-steam.c5game.com/groups/eostracker
https://testx-steam.c5game.com/groups/NoToEAC

Hey, just wondering - do you also cover the Epic Games stuff? Last time I checked China owns a huge chunk of Epic Games, and combined with EOS/EAC owned by Epic Games and their habits of mass kernel-level data harvesting from players, it would be something worthwhile to mention. At the very least games that use EAC or another so-called 'anti-cheat' with heavy Chinese involvement should have a warning about said involvement.

@Rezalon It seems like Grasshopper no longer owns the IPs of either of these games.

Looks like we are having a field day.

https://testx-steam.c5game.com/steamstore/sale/steamchinacontentshowcase2025

From August, I'll be attempting group-wide giveaways, probably starting with Still Wakes The Deep in light of this news. I know giveaways aren't everyone's cup of tea, but if anyone is interested, you can request to join the giveaway group here: https://testx-steam.c5game.com/groups/ObCgiveaways .
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask away.

That is excellent news, Pontus. All of their reviews have been removed.

The Chinese Room is independent now again!!!

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-chinese-room-is-independent-again-heres-how-it-happened

theres a group for CCP.. so gross. of corase steam wants more money i cant blame them. fcck CCP

As a part of China's economy (as per licensing, tax, and salary costs), every purchase of new and old products from Electronic Arts keeps the lights on for every one of their studios around the world, including their Chinese location.

Here might be a relevant example:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/battlefield-4-banned-in-china-over-national-security/


It goes without saying that any localized product is censored majorly or completely, so I think it is safe to say that EA adheres to the CCP's policies legally and culturally.

Ex. 2: https://www.newsweek.com/sims-freeplay-banned-china-saudi-arabia-egypt-lgbtq-996699

From what I can tell, EA China is an artwork, technical support and localisation studio that focuses mostly on mobile games. I don't feel compelled to include every game made by EA without more evidence.

@Sm:(e

https://www.ea.com/news/tour-the-ea-china-studio

@Villainous Review
Ubisoft is listed as it's minority owned by China.
Do you have a specific source for EA?

Every game being sold in China has to follow the policies of the CCP. I'm not going to list every game that is available in China because it's irrelevant.

I have a question: why are not games on the list from publishers like AE and Ubisoft, who collaborate with Chinese investements and follow the policy of the CCP?

Hey Smile, thanks for keeping this up. I follow this and your 2nd curation. I've avoided purchasing multiple chinese owned games because of what you do. I wish steam would add at least add a country of origin on game pages.

When It comes to co-developers, it was something I considered putting alongside ownership, but it's very hard to track. Companies don't typically list co-developer companies and most co-developers are typically for localisation and regional purposes, which doesn't really work with this purpose of this curator in my opinion.

@Nirasti As for your first message, I'll have to take some time to consider some of these questions. However, personally I have been considering Saudi Arabian acquisitions as a potential addition or alternate curator, although I suspect someone might already be doing that. (Haven't checked.)

I personally emailed Secret Mode in March to ask if any IPs or rights were retained by Sumo, to which they said independently developed games were not retained by Sumo. Secret Mode related games IPs were retained by respective indie Devs of which Secret Mode retained publishing rights. However, as far as I understand it some Secret Mode developed games may still be interlocked with Sumo in some way.

Also, just so you're aware, the publisher Secret Mode was sold from Sumo Group to Emona Capital earlier this year. This means it is no longer owned by Tencent, but I'm not sure how it directly affects developers whose games were published by them, such as Sumo Digital [en.wikipedia.org] and The Chinese Room [en.wikipedia.org]. You may have to look into it further yourself.

It also seems like Sumo Digital co-developed many games not found on your lists, such as Forza Horizon 5 and Hitman 2. Most co-developers actively receive a percentage of the game's sales, so you should be aware of that too.

@Sm:(e
Hey again. I have some new questions because I'm still curious about your deeper motivations. In the spirit of open discourse, I hope you don't mind answering them.

1. What changes to how China is governed would convince you to reconsider encouraging a boycott against products and services from the country?

2. Do you have any ideas on how said changes could be implemented? What countries and/or organisations do you think would be capable of helping implement said changes, and how?

3. Are there any other countries that you personally think should be the target of similar boycotts on their industries? Are there any countries that you have considered making similar curator groups for as well?

4. Do you think you will be expanding targeted countries for this curator group if China's political and economic partnerships deepen greatly with them in the future? What extent of cooperation might encourage you to expand the boycott to them?

@Dokkasan

China is a socialist country, with all property being owned by collectives or the Chinese Communist Party. Private ownership is an illusion in China, with all products produced in/by China or by Chinese minority or majority-owned companies supporting the CCP government in some manner fashion.

The usual requirements for China to consider one's company worth investing in is an agreement of entitlement to a percentage of profits (to China) and the avoidance of offending the Chinese government (no mention of Tiananmen Square, Taiwan being an independent country, etc.).

Think of it as a funnel if need be.

Out of curiosity, when you say, "Owned by China", does that mean it is actually owned by the country of China or just by people who are from China?

I gotta leave cause I seen the light and I support the mighty CCP now, may the gaze of Xi Chin Ping illuminate your souls like it did with mine.

If it did not offend CCP stooges that such groups exist (outside of their control), they would not turn on their VPNs to leave meaningless comments on Western platforms; the quality of their shilling is the same quality of their concrete.

It's good. Because it means group is true neutral aka informational and it's up to you to decide what you wanna do with this information freely by choice.

The bot army is the newest form of their 'paper tiger'.

It's literally the same comment.
Every time

I actually followed this curator because I love buying Chinese products and this is an easy way to find them.

@Wade.Luo :(

stupid ♥♥♥♥♥

https://testx-steam.c5game.com/steamstore/app/2947440/SILENT_HILL_f/

Neobards is a chinese studio based in Hong Kong

@test Thanks for letting me know. That Carto review was made in 2021 when the parameters this curator functioned under were different. I have removed the review.

@Sm:(e you said that exclusive publishing basically means you own the game, but in the case of the game Carto, XD doesn't have exclusive publishing rights.

@test Regional publishing rights are different to exclusive publishing rights.
Exclusive publishing basically means you own the game whereas regional rights means you license the game from someone who owns it. Sometimes it involves differing clients, platforms, localisations, etc.

@Sm:(e if that's the case, then why do you give “Not Recommended” ratings to some games published by chinese companies with publishing rights like XD, Erabit Studios and Indieark..?

@test I'm not gonna lie, I don't really care what a company or country says to placate China, keep consumers or lower possible tensions. Companies think with their wallet.
I also wouldn't categorise one coerced statement from NEXON as "strong support" for the "One-China" policy and I don't see any other evidence indicating any more "support".

@Sm:(e Yostar holds publishing rights in CN and JP, while NEXON has also shown strong support for the One-China principle and the CPP's atrocities against Hong Kong and Taiwan(see wiki). therefore, you do not recommend it?

@test Yostar does not publish the global client. Yostar does not own and did not develop Blue Archive, they just have CN and JP publishing rights.

@Sm:(e but Yostar is a chinese company,and check https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%94%9A%E8%97%8D%E6%AA%94%E6%A1%88#%E4%B8%89%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4%E7%9B%B4%E6%92%AD%E7%88%AD%E8%AD%B0

@test Blue Archive is owned by NEXON, a Korean company.

why are you playing blue archive, every dollar you put in will fuel the evil of the CCP

@UX1∴73C thank you

@Lord Sion

Chongqing Press, a publisher of Cixin Liu, is based in China. Therefore, it supports the Chinese Communist Party by proxy; every company within China, including private, is affected by the party-building (dangjian) policy. Western companies that do business with/in China are affected by said policy as well, but to a lesser extent in terms of how much revenue is sent back to China — notwithstanding the Chinese government ensuring the product has no differing content/messages that dissent from the party's values.

This would include criticism of Xi Jinping, calling Taiwan an independent country, or any opposition to Communism and all the atrocities it has led to in the History of China and the world.

I know that this is not gaming related, but is Cixin Liu (the author of the three body problem) supporting the cummunist party?

@UX1∴73C Chinese localisation doesn't indicate investment or ownership. There are plenty of localisers that localise to Chinese that aren't based in China.

Is there a single game with Chinese localization that can safely be bought without directly or indirectly supporting China? At this point, anything with Chinese characters is a landmine and anything with Japanese characters might be as well.

@denzilb55 thank you for the update, I will remove the curation.

Hello, our game Metavoidal is reported as "Owned by China" under Astrolabe Games. There was a period where Astrolabe was going to market and publish the game. However, development was fully funded by ourselves - and we are a small South African indie studio based in Cape Town called Yellow Lab Games. We have since bought over the publishing rights from Astrolabe, and so have no affiliation with China and so we ask that you reconsider your review of our game:

https://testx-steam.c5game.com/steamstore/app/2221780/Metavoidal/