Valve’s latest Steam update has introduced localized review scores, restricting what users see to reviews written in their own language. While Steam claims this change helps players make more informed decisions, critics argue that it fundamentally alters one of the platform’s most important features — and may even cross into legally questionable territory by effectively hiding negative reviews.
A Major Change to a Decade-Old Feature
Since 2013, user reviews have been a cornerstone of Steam’s storefront. They not only let players share their honest experiences but have also served as a way to protest against developer decisions, demand changes, or boycott games entirely. Ready or Not’s review-bombing incident after censorship changes is one of many examples where reviews have been used as a tool of community expression.
The new update, however, changes how these voices are displayed. Steam now prioritizes localized review scores: if a game has at least 2,000 reviews in total and 200 written in a specific language, that language becomes the default score for users who speak it. International reviews are pushed into the background, only viewable through the “Language Breakdown” filter.
The Impact on Global Titles
The consequences for globally popular games are already visible. Black Myth: Wukong, which previously displayed over 850,000 mostly positive reviews on its Steam page, now only shows around 64,000 reviews to English-speaking users. While still a significant number, it strips away the massive international approval that once acted as a selling point for the Chinese RPG.
Other titles, such as Wuchang: Fallen Feathers and Tale of Immortal, are also facing reduced visibility in many regions. Developers who rely on global audiences may now find that thousands of their hard-earned reviews are hidden by default, diminishing their games’ appeal to new buyers.
A Questionable Move With Legal Concerns
Steam argues that localized grading makes purchasing decisions smarter by showing players how a game performs within their own region. However, this reasoning is already being challenged. Critics point out that the system enables negative reviews to be filtered out, leaving only selective feedback visible to the customer.
This practice raises questions of legality, as filtering out negative reviews can mislead consumers. In many regions, consumer protection laws require transparency in customer feedback, and hiding negative international reviews may be interpreted as presenting a biased or manipulated product image. In other words, Steam’s update may not just be controversial — it may be fundamentally against the law.
Looking Ahead
While players can still access international feedback with additional effort, the default visibility has changed in a way that strongly favors localization over global transparency. Whether this results in a smoother buying experience or sparks widespread backlash remains to be seen.
For now, Valve faces mounting criticism for a move that risks alienating its global community — and potentially facing legal scrutiny for limiting consumer access to full and honest reviews.
