Spotted by SteamSpy, it seems Valve is having an issue on Steam with bots giving out good reviews of games.
The game in question is ZombieRush, and it's pretty obvious too.
I could spot them almost instantly, same time played, same amount of products owned and reviews given out:
This game is absolutely rammed full of bot reviews. I fully expect the developer and their game to be removed from Steam for gaming the system in such a way and they should be.
This is the problem when you open up your store and allow pretty much anyone to get in. It doesn't state it on the Steam page, but the game actually came from greenlight. It wouldn't even surprise me if those same accounts are used to vote for the games on Greenlight too, in fact, I'm sure this probably happens.
Valve did say a while back they wanted to get rid of Greenlight for a more open system, but they haven't even been able to sort the issues out with this approach yet.
I don't think a walled garden approach is the answer either, but on all titles Valve should seriously do some checking.
It's not like Valve doesn't have the money to recruit staff to check on games that come into Steam. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
The game in question is ZombieRush, and it's pretty obvious too.
I could spot them almost instantly, same time played, same amount of products owned and reviews given out:
This game is absolutely rammed full of bot reviews. I fully expect the developer and their game to be removed from Steam for gaming the system in such a way and they should be.
This is the problem when you open up your store and allow pretty much anyone to get in. It doesn't state it on the Steam page, but the game actually came from greenlight. It wouldn't even surprise me if those same accounts are used to vote for the games on Greenlight too, in fact, I'm sure this probably happens.
Valve did say a while back they wanted to get rid of Greenlight for a more open system, but they haven't even been able to sort the issues out with this approach yet.
I don't think a walled garden approach is the answer either, but on all titles Valve should seriously do some checking.
It's not like Valve doesn't have the money to recruit staff to check on games that come into Steam. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
raverrebel Jun 10, 2016
obviously http://store.steampowered.com/app/462060 has the same umm.. "problem"
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Quoting: raverrebelobviously http://store.steampowered.com/app/462060 has the same umm.. "problem"Yep, did a quick check and that one is also being bot spammed with good reviews.
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linux_gamer Jun 10, 2016
Is it worth it? The devs don't get (unlimited?) "free" steam copies or do they?
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I also noticed a large amount of negative reviews on Wasteland 2. All with less than half an hour of play time. Looks like someone is using the free weekend to take down the rating.
Valve obviously still has some issues to sort out in the review system.
Valve obviously still has some issues to sort out in the review system.
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rustybroomhandle Jun 10, 2016
Quoting: linuxgamerIs it worth it? The devs don't get (unlimited?) "free" steam copies or do they?
A dev can request as many keys for their game as desired.
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Valve needs to step up their game. For such a big company in the industry they are in they just seem so dysfunctional. I feel like they have made misstep after misstep, and the only thing that keeps them up is consumer loyalty and a lack of a viable alternative. Consumer loyalty will go down if they can't get their act together.
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linux_gamer Jun 10, 2016
Quoting: rustybroomhandleThat's an invitation for abuse. They could create as many non-steam copies of their games as they like anyway (for testing and promotion purpose).Quoting: linuxgamerIs it worth it? The devs don't get (unlimited?) "free" steam copies or do they?
A dev can request as many keys for their game as desired.
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rustybroomhandle Jun 10, 2016
Quoting: linuxgamerQuoting: rustybroomhandleThat's an invitation for abuse. They could create as many non-steam copies of their games as they like anyway (for testing and promotion purpose).Quoting: linuxgamerIs it worth it? The devs don't get (unlimited?) "free" steam copies or do they?
A dev can request as many keys for their game as desired.
Perhaps. In the developer's stats panel, sales are separated into "Steam purchases" and "retail activations". The latter being any other place where you can get a Steam key - Humble, GoG, bundles, giveaways, store purchases, etc. This is why they are not limited - Valve is just happy to have people on their platform.
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Quoting: raverrebelobviously http://store.steampowered.com/app/462060 has the same umm.. "problem"Those sure are a lot of 4.1 hour game sessions :P
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Quoting: GuestSeveral of them seem a bit... odd. ~0.1h play time and no real comment (eg. "li ca dracu", "Wasteland 2, Best way to waste your time.", this game is sooo bad m8", etc.). It doesn't necessarily seem like a bot problem though, more like spammy reviews.Quoting: EhvisI also noticed a large amount of negative reviews on Wasteland 2. All with less than half an hour of play time. Looks like someone is using the free weekend to take down the rating.Haha, no, I’m pretty sure these are legit.
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