Many developers noticed an increase in positive reviews for their games during the latest Steam sale that ended this tuesday. This is the result of a special badge that players can win after completing certain tasks at the annual awards ceremony, that is, they can vote for certain categories in the Steam Awards.
The trend was noticed by Mikhail Chuprakov, founder and CEO of niceplay games. In a post on social networks he shared information about to the large increase in positive user reviews for Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator, calling it the Steam Awards nominations effect.
The Steam Autumn Sale 2023 started on November 21st, and users had the opportunity to nominate their favorite games in various categories such as Game of the Year, Labor of Love, Better with Friends, etc. In addition, players had the opportunity to win the Steam Awards Nomination Committee Badge by completing four tasks, including a review of the game they nominated.
According to Chuprakov, before the start of the Fall Sale and the 2023 Steam Awards, 82% of the roughly 300 recent reviews (posted in the last 30 days) for Potion Craft were positive. As of November 21st, the rating has risen to 97% (mostly positive), based on more than 3,600 reviews.
Deveolper noted that while the 82% rating is not reliable given the small number of reviews, most of them come from players who are “waiting for new updates and expressing dissatisfaction with slow development”. However, the recent increase in rating indicates that most users don't care about writing reviews at all, that is, they just need a good reason to do so, such as, for example, the Steam Awards:
“Perhaps, Valve needs to look deeper into this trend and give rewards for game reviews more often? Because I’m also often too lazy to write reviews, but sometimes I force myself to do it. And cases like this benefit everyone: developers, Steam, and players,” Chuprakov said.
Indeed, Potion Craft is not the only game that has experienced the so-called Steam Awards nomination effect. Reverse city builder Terra Nil has received hundreds of new positive reviews since November 21st, with its recent rating reaching 95%. Other examples include Remnant II (up from 83% positive reviews in the last 30 days before the fall sale to 91%), Sons of the Forest (up from 90% to 96%), Hogwarts Legacy (up from 87% to 95%), Viewfinder (86 % to 97%), Sea of Stars (from 89% to 95%), etc.
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