February 14th is supposed to be a festival to show your significant other halves how much you love them and enjoy the shared romance. However, people are always told to do certain things on the day by influencers, brands, or different campaigns on social media; for example, buy roses and chocolate, watch a movie, go for a fine dinner, etc.
The same pattern follows almost every year, no wonder Valentine’s Day has already become a tasteless burden for some Chinese young people. Instead of repeating “yearly activities”, Chinese young people are choosing a very special way to celebrate the festival with their loved ones.
Instead of meeting in person, some young people choose to play mobile games with their loved ones and spend time in the gaming world. Major gaming platforms have different features and challenges on Valentine’s Day which are designed especially for couples and friends. In Honor of Kings, there are different limited couple garments and bonus points for players on the day. For couples who are not staying in the same place, this is no doubt a great way to enjoy time together and have some fun.
Another interesting fact is that the couple characters in the game are based on true stories, mainly from Chinese history. For example, the character Xiao Qiao was the wife of Zhou Yu back in the Chinese Han Dynasty (202BC – 220AD). Players can purchase the couple’s garments and create special effects within the game.
Another game, Game for Peace, which is also designed by Tencent, enables players to give flowers to their loved ones. There are also “dating activities” in the game for players to choose from; for example, enjoying a hot air balloon or Ferris wheel ride, swinging together, or simply just sitting around and chatting via the chatbox.
For Chinese young people, especially for Gen Z, it is not about how much you spend on this festival to show your love, but rather how you plan to spend quality time with people you love and increase intimacy. That is the reason why these games attract so many young people on Valentine’s Day.
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