Epic Games Store: game ratings are there, but different than usual

Game ratings on platforms like Steam, where you can actually track whether and how much has been played, are actually considered well-founded. However, the Epic Games Store did not offer a rating function for a long time, referring, among other things, to the danger of review bombing. Now there is such a function though. Players may have imagined the whole thing differently, because not everyone is allowed to participate and certainly not give detailed information.

Rather, Epic relies on the random principle. This is explained in a blog post: “Following a game session, randomly selected players are offered the opportunity to rate the game with up to five stars. Over time, these ratings will be incorporated into the overall rating that is displayed on the shop page of the product is displayed.” To be eligible for random play, players must have played a game for at least two hours. The article does not state whether there are other criteria for the random procedure.

Epic Games Store with ratings: see the polls for details

Because it’s random, players shouldn’t be spammed and likely asked about every game or app, Epic said. According to the shop owner, this approach protects players from rating bombardments. In addition, it is ensured that only those ratings are given that have actually played a title.

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A detailed exchange is of course not possible. For example, if a game only has three out of five points, in the absence of detailed reviews it is not possible to determine where the stumbling block lies. Were there any technical problems with the release, are the system requirements too high, or did many people just expect something else from a project? Even review bombing, from which Epic wants to protect its customers, can often be identified after reviewing the ratings.

Another innovation are polls. They should also appear randomly from now on. Their spectrum ranges from questions that can be answered with yes and no to multiple-choice surveys. If enough players have taken part in a survey, these become tags for the respective product page. “As the number of tags grows over time, they can inform players about content and improve discoverability – helping our players find more games to enjoy.” More details can be found in the Announcement by Epic.

Source: epic