Steam Review Scores Now Based on Language

Steam announced an update to its User Review Score system, and users will now see a rating calculated from reviews written in their language. The change comes as Steam’s global presence grows, especially with the surge in players from China. By calculating a language-specific review score, players get a better sense of sentiment within their language group. It’s also frustrating to have to scroll through pages of reviews written in another language.

The language-specific review score appears once there are enough reviews in a particular language. It’s shown at the top as a review score based on the user’s primary language, with an option to see a score based on all languages. The change affects games with more than 2,000 publicly visible reviews and at least 200 written reviews in one language. Users can also click “See language breakdown” for a per-language view with more detail.

While I’m speculating, one reason this feature rolled out may be the review bombing of Baldur’s Gate 3 after The Game Awards 2024. Fans of Black Myth: Wukong weren’t happy with the speech Baldur’s Gate 3 creator Swen Vincke gave before Astro Bot was named Game of the Year. Filtering user reviews by language should curb some of those malicious events.