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Steam Reviews beta begins, lets users rate games and software

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

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Gamers who use Steam will finally get their chance to weigh in on their favorite games and software. Today, Valve is launching Steam Reviews in beta, allowing gamers to review any game or software they have purchased or registered using Steam.

This is a historic moment for Steam as this is the first time the service has allowed user reviews. Previously, Steam only showed the Metacritic reviews for games, which are combined scores from around the web.

Steam Reviews beta begins, lets users rate games and software

Steam Reviews review sample

To make Steam Reviews truly useful to users, Valve requires someone to have purchased or registered a game or piece of software before reviewing it, though Steam will allow reviews of games that made available during a “Free Weekend.” Steam will also show the amount of time a user has played a game or spent within an app so readers can know if a user gave the app or game a chance. User submitted scores can be marked as being helpful (or not), bringing more relevant reviews to the top, similar to what Amazon does with its product reviews.

This early beta won’t show an averaged user score, though Valve says they are “looking to add that during the beta.” Metacritic scores will still love on as a separate scoring system from user reviews so users have more info to make an informed decision.

Valve wants to make sure developers have an avenue to reach out to users who give negative reviews so they’ve built into a comment system for reviews. Developers cannot, however, delete negative reviews but can request a take down if a review is abusive or spam. Most recent reviews are also prioritized, giving users the most relevant information about how the game is now and not how it was at launch.

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Source: Valve

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