Valve is implementing changes to how Steam sorts and displays user reviews to address the problem of joke and meme reviews overwhelming the platform. For many years, Steam users have been able to write reviews—ranging from detailed analyses to brief impressions—to help others decide whether to buy a game.
However, the increasing prevalence of trivial and humorous reviews has diluted the usefulness of this feedback, prompting Valve to revise its approach.
In a recent blog post, Valve outlined its new strategy to improve the relevance of Steam reviews. The company aims to ensure that reviews serve their primary purpose: assisting potential buyers in making informed decisions about games. The current review system, which relies on user voting to determine helpfulness, has proven inadequate. To address this, Valve plans to make it harder for “unhelpful” reviews to appear prominently.
Valve’s new criteria for identifying unhelpful reviews include those composed of just one word, ASCII art, or primarily humorous content. These types of reviews will now be relegated to less visible positions on the game’s store page, making them less likely to interfere with genuine feedback. While humorous reviews will still be accessible, they will be filtered to avoid cluttering the main review section.
The process for identifying and sorting these unhelpful reviews will involve Steam moderators, user reports, and machine learning algorithms. Valve has acknowledged that many of these unhelpful reviews are easily recognizable, so the company will focus initially on these clear cases. The transition to the new system will be gradual, as evaluating both existing and new reviews is expected to take time.
Despite the changes, Valve recognizes that some players value humorous reviews and may still want to see them. Therefore, the company will offer an option to toggle on these reviews for those interested. This adjustment is intended to preserve the freedom for users to express their opinions in creative ways while ensuring that meaningful, helpful reviews remain the focus for prospective buyers.
