The gaming platform Steam is taking action against manipulated and inflated reviews of games. A lot of “fake reviews” will soon have no impact on the number of positive opinions.
Do some game reviews on Steam also seem too good to be true? Have you ever bought a real “lemon” and then wondered how so many players gave the game a good review? That is exactly what bothers the operators of Steam, as more than 160 titles have, according to Steam, “obviously” manipulated their reviews.
A good review on Steam ensures that games are advertised as “positive,” which makes more buyers inclined to purchase. No wonder that some developers like to take matters into their own hands to write additional reviews.
Changes to the Rating System
The biggest change is probably that anyone who has not unlocked the game directly through Steam, but via a “developer key,” no longer has any influence on the final value of a rating – that is, the number that indicates how many players found the game “positive.” Players with such keys can still write reviews and these can still be seen, but the rating will no longer be included in the overall result.
What Impact Does This Have on Games?
What sounds like a small cut in theory has significant consequences for the ratings. A total of 14% of all games on Steam will be reclassified into a new category after this cleanup. What was previously “mostly positive” might now be “mixed.” Although Steam claims there will be “some upward movers” and “some downward movers,” many games will likely find themselves on the losing side after such a cleanup.
The goal of this action is to present players with a more accurate picture of the games with genuine reviews that are not manipulated by developers.
Mein-MMO believes: An important and correct step by Steam. Almost all review platforms today are filled with paid reviews that are immediately noticeable to the trained eye. Filtering out the black sheep sounds good at first glance. However, whether this will ultimately achieve the desired success remains to be seen.
