A new survey from market research company GameDiscoverCo has quantified what most PC gamers already suspected: Steam reviews matter — a lot.
The survey, which polled approximately 3,800 Steam players between June 25 and July 2, 2026, found that 91.9% of respondents consult player feedback to some degree before making a purchase. Among those surveyed, 40.5% said they always check reviews, while 32% do so most of the time. Another 19.4% check sometimes, leaving just 2.5% who never look at reviews at all.
In other words, if your game has a poor rating, most players are going to know about it before they even consider hitting that “Add to Cart” button.
The Tipping Point: Mixed Ratings
The results also highlight the commercial risk associated with lower Steam ratings. Around 20.3% of players said anything below “Very Positive” would reduce their interest, while another 30.8% identified “Mixed” as the point where they become less likely to buy. Combined, this means a “Mixed” rating could make 51.1% of respondents reconsider a purchase.
However, being less likely to buy doesn’t mean these players will automatically avoid the game. Around 34.9% said they only become concerned at “Mostly Negative” or lower, while 9.7% claimed that no rating would significantly affect their decision.
What Players Actually Care About
When it comes to the content of reviews, players value practical information above all else. Reports about bugs, performance, and technical problems were cited as the most useful part of Steam reviews. Meanwhile, low-effort jokes, review bombing, and potentially fake or AI-generated reviews were among the most common complaints.
This suggests that players aren’t just looking for a thumbs-up or thumbs-down — they want to know whether the game actually works and whether it’s worth their time and money.
A Word of Caution
GameDiscoverCo noted that participants were generally more committed Steam users, meaning the results may not represent the platform’s entire audience. Still, the data paints a clear picture: reviews are a critical factor in the purchasing decisions of Steam’s most active players, and developers ignore them at their own risk.
Final Word
In an era where digital storefronts are flooded with new releases, player reviews have become the modern equivalent of word-of-mouth. A bad rating can sink a game before it even has a chance to find its audience — and as this survey shows, the bar for “acceptable” is higher than many developers might think.
