For 14 years — starting in 2000 — the Chinese government enforced a ban on video game consoles. Between 2014 and 2015, both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 made their long-awaited and overdue debut. Microsoft described its release as a “monumental day” and celebrated by lighting up the Shanghai skyline in bright Xbox green. Sony’s chief executive Kaz Hirai told The Telegraph that “I think that we will be able to replicate the kind of success we have had with PS4 in other parts of the world in [China].”

The appeal of the Chinese market is obvious. It has massive population and a rapidly expanding entertainment culture. While the mobile and PC markets are already flooded with games, the console space remains a largely untapped source of potential customers.

But the launch of consoles in China isn’t just good for companies like Microsoft, Sony, and game publishers looking to reach a new market. It has also helped open the doors for a small but growing community of indie game creators in China hoping to reach outward to the rest of the world world. “Making mobile games is not something we are good at,” Beijing-based developer Gao Ming says of his studio Spotlightor Interactive. “What we are good at is console games. Those are the kind of games and communities that we have enthusiasm and dedication to make games for. We now have this chance.”

Today sees the launch of Candleman on Xbox One, Spotlightor’s first console title.