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As of this week, review scores will no longer take into account reviews submitted by users who received the game for free, such as via a gift or during a free weekend.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

March 10, 2017

1 Min Read

Valve has made further changes to its Steam User Review system in an attempt to "fine-tune" the accuracy and relevance of the overall review score assigned to each product. 

As of this week, review scores will no longer take into account reviews submitted by users who received the game for free, such as via a gift or during a free weekend. 

Users who obtain games those ways will still have the right to submit a review, although it will no longer count towards a title's overall score. 

Valve rolled out the latest change earlier this week, but says it'll take a few more days for the system to completely update reviews and re-calculate overall scores. 

As such, the company has warned that users and developers may see review scores change a few times over the coming days.

It's also worth noting that the change only affects games that are listed for sale on Steam. Free-to-play and such titles won't be impacted by the latest tweaks.

This is the latest in a string of changes made by Valve, with the company previously disregarding reviews submitted by Steam key users, before regaining slightly on those changes in the following update.

To find out more about the latest changes, head on over to the Steam Community blog

About the Author(s)

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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