This week, Steam has introduced new methods for displaying review scores to its users, leading to unexpected increases in ratings for games such as Palworld, Balatro, and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. These enhancements have even caused some titles to surpass certain score categories due to the boosts. Although these modifications aim to give users better data for informed buying decisions, there’s a possibility that they might encourage individuals to submit reviews in specific languages to gain additional voting influence.
On a Monday, Steam unveiled plans to restructure their method for rating user reviews on games. Instead of focusing on general evaluations, they will now prioritize language-based averages. This adjustment aims to align more closely with the cultural expectations that users from specific regions have when searching for titles.
Since Steam expanded its global reach significantly, it’s important to note that players from various parts of the world might have quite distinct experiences with the same game. This disparity can be attributed to several factors such as translation issues, cultural differences, weak internet connections, and more. Until now, overall review scores haven’t been able to account for these nuances. By calculating a score specific to each language, we can better understand the sentiment of different customer groups and ultimately provide a more tailored service to potential customers who belong to those same groups.
Upon accessing a game’s store page on Steam, users will notice a change in the way scores are presented. Instead of viewing a single overall average score at the top as previously, they will now see an average review score that is specific to the language they have chosen for their interface.
Users can still find the overall review score at the bottom of a game’s store page, irrespective of the language. This update to the review layout has potentially boosted scores for some games among English-speaking users, who make up a significant portion, often the majority, of Steam users.
In Steam’s blog post, they touched on the topic of culture, as the game “Wuchang: Fallen Feathers” had sparked controversy due to alterations in its story and characters that some gamers perceived as a reaction to Chinese criticism of certain cultural aspects within the game. Interestingly, while the overall review score for “Wuchang: Fallen Feathers” stands at 50% when aggregating ratings across all languages, it now shows a more favorable 69% rating specifically from English-speaking reviewers.
Besides active controversy-ridden games, the new review display is also positively impacting others. For instance, the updated Palworld now shows as “Overwhelmingly Positive” for its English users due to an influx of positive reviews, and even already well-reviewed games like Balatro saw slight score enhancements.
Because of the recent update on Steam reviews (now displaying the overall score in your local language), Palworld has been given an Overwhelmingly Positive rating!
We can’t thank our international fans enough for their ongoing support and enjoyment of the game. As always, we deeply appreciate your continued backing!
— Bucky | Palworld (@Bucky_cm) August 20, 2025
There’s a concern that this approach could potentially be manipulated by individuals trying to sway a game’s rating in specific languages. Could users, in an attempt to exert greater influence on a Steam game’s score, choose to write reviews in English or Chinese over their default language? Since English is the most commonly used language among platform users (representing 37.7% of those studied by Logrus IT as of July), this might be a tempting strategy for achieving a broader impact on Steam user ratings.
Not every game has benefited from the recent change, and even popular titles like “Mortal Kombat 1” experienced a slight dip in review scores with English ratings following the update. However, it’s essential for Steam users considering purchases to remember this shift, as some previously inflated scores might now appear slightly lower than they did under the previous system.
How do you feel about the recent alterations in how Steam presents game review ratings? Have you observed significant shifts in the ratings of your preferred games as a result?
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2025-08-20 21:38