Steam user reviews: the review score, rules, flags and replies
29 Oct 2026 · 7 min read
Steam user reviews are written by players and shown on your store page with a review score. This guide covers who can review, how the score is counted, Valve's rules for developers, flagging, official responses and review bombs, from Valve's User Reviews doc, checked 29 Oct 2026. It is not about Valve's own check of your store page and build before release: that is the Steam review process.
Who can review and what counts
Anyone who has launched your game through Steam and has playtime can write a review: a buyer, someone who activated a key from elsewhere, a free weekend player, a free game player or someone on Family Library Sharing. Their playtime shows next to the review.
Labels on reviews
Some reviews carry a label so readers know the context:
| Label | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Early Access | Written during Early Access; labeled once the game fully releases. The label goes if the player updates the review after release. |
| Free copy | The player says they got the game for free. Valve recommends it for press and promotional copies. |
| Pre-Release Review | Written before release by someone with an early copy, usually from a release-override key. |
| Advance access | Written during advance access; shown to other users like a review after full release. |
Early Access timing and the move to 1.0 are covered in Steam Early Access.
Sources: User Reviews. Checked 29 Oct 2026. Valve updates these pages; the Steamworks docs always win.
Valve's rules for developers
Valve does not see customer benefit in developers asking for reviews, and lists three things not to do:
Players have rules too: no abuse or threats, no ads, referrals or promotions, no artificial score influence such as multiple accounts or paid reviews, and a free copy should be disclosed in the review.
Flagging a review
You cannot delete reviews of your game. You can flag one that breaks the rules; it stays listed until a moderator deletes it or removes the flag. Click the Recommended or Not Recommended headline to open the review, then use the drop-down in the orange moderator controls section:
| Flag | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Abusive | Threats, wishes of harm, or abuse of developers or users. |
| Off-Topic | Uninformative, or not about the product, its development or its community. |
| Violates Community Guidelines | Breaks the other review guidelines. |
Responding to reviews
In the same moderator controls, Write Official Developer Response adds a reply right below the review, marked as official and visible to anyone who can see the review. Comments you post on reviews of your product are also flagged as coming from the developer.
Valve's caution: not every review needs a response. A developer response often draws more attention than the review itself, and using it to refute an opinion can look like an attempt to silence customers. Valve's Moderation Best Practices apply to reviews too.
Valve also says reviews can be a feedback channel: they show whether the expectations your store page, videos and press copies set are being met.
Review bombs
Valve calls it a review bomb when many players use reviews to voice unhappiness, lower the score and provoke a response. What Valve says to do:
Valve says the surge calms down after a few days in every case it has seen. Reviews from that period are grouped and marked by Steam, bomb reviews are rarely voted helpful, and Valve has not seen a link between review bombs and purchases.
Review score and visibility
As long as your reviews are Mixed or above (40%+), the review score is not a factor in Steam's algorithmic visibility. Below 40%, Mostly Negative, the game is less likely to be featured. The free traffic Steam gives at launch and after updates is in Steam visibility rounds.
To pull reviews into your own tools, Valve has an API for user reviews by date range or other criteria.
Where a broadcast fits
Reviews tell visitors what players think; a store page broadcast shows them the game itself, on the same page. Loopcast keeps a store page broadcast running from an uploaded video, billed per minute on air; chat on it is covered in moderating broadcast chat. You can try it free for 7 days, no card needed.
FAQ
Who can write a Steam review of my game?
Anyone who has playtime in it through Steam, including players who used a key from elsewhere, a free weekend, a free game or Family Library Sharing. Only reviews from accounts that bought the game on Steam count toward the review score.
Can I delete a negative Steam review?
No. You can flag a review that breaks Steam's rules. It stays listed until a moderator deletes it or removes the flag.
Can I ask players to review my game?
Not inside your game, and not in exchange for games, DLC, money or other rewards. Sending a copy to press or internet personalities for a review is the exception.
Does my review score affect Steam visibility?
Only below 40%. At Mixed or above, the score is not a factor in algorithmic visibility. Below 40%, Mostly Negative, the game is less likely to be featured.
Can I quote a Steam review in my marketing?
Valve says to reach out to that user and get their permission first.