Microsoft and China’s BesTV New Media have announced plans to launch the Microsoft Xbox One next-generation game console in China this September.
“This is a historic moment in our partnership as we work toward the first official Xbox launch in China,” said Microsoft Xbox Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer Yusuf Mehdi. “Xbox One will also be the first system of its kind to launch in China.”
Last year the companies revealed plans to develop a game console and streaming platform for the Chinese market, in anticipation of the government’s lifting of a ban on the manufacture and sale of game consoles in China. The ban was officially revoked last month.
IPTV provider BesTV has 18 million subscribers in China, Southeast Asia and Europe. E-Home Entertainment Development, the partners’ company in China, launched with US$237 million in capital in 2013 with BesTV controlling 51 per cent and Microsoft the remaining 49 per cent.
The announcement also follows Microsoft’s previously confirmed roll-out of the Xbox One in 26 countries including Korea, Japan and Singapore on 4 September.
Xbox One debuted in thirteen territories on 21 November last year, including the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
