A latest research concluded that gamers who put extra of their time right into a sport could also be liable to leaving a destructive evaluate on Steam. The studio, out there on Researchgate, analyzes what would possibly trigger this paradoxical relationship between customers and video games they sink numerous hours into, proving that critiques aren’t an infallible indicator of consumer satisfaction. Moreover, it supplies perception into how this differs primarily based on the sport’s style.
In August 2026, Chetan Mudlapur and Om Prakash Singh of the Indian Institute of Data Know-how performed a research on how long-term engagement with a online game could have an effect on gamers’ relationship with it. For this research, the researchers analyzed over half 1,000,000 Steam critiques and used data-processing strategies to filter them and cut back bias. Though they took critiques from customers who acquired free or early entry to video games into consideration, they excluded them from the analysis, as they believed the monetary side performs a giant function in how the common participant critiques it.
Mudlapur and Singh’s research discovered that customers have been extra prone to evaluate video games throughout their first few hours of taking part in or after a very long time with a sport. Steam’s refund coverage permits gamers to get their a refund in the event that they request a refund earlier than reaching two hours of playtime. Evaluations from customers with low playtimes (between 0 and a pair of hours) have been principally destructive, indicating that it is possible gamers who stopped taking part in and requested for a refund. The subsequent teams within the research have been those that performed between 2 and 200 hours, and these critiques proved to be “constantly optimistic.” Lastly, there was the “veterans” group, which included all gamers with over 200 hours of playtime; right here, the researchers seen an enormous rise in destructive critiques.
The researchers seen that video games with essentially the most high-playtime gamers additionally had nice paradox charges when it got here to critiques, which means their followers have been probably to play for a very long time but additionally depart a foul evaluate. Battle Thunder, a free live-service sport, takes the cake as the sport with the best paradox fee on this research. When visiting its Steam web page, it is noticeable that the variety of dangerous critiques has elevated considerably through the years. Whereas its general ranking is “Principally Optimistic,” latest critiques are “Blended” — most likely attributable to the truth that the extra players play, the extra they dislike sure elements, inflicting them to go away a destructive evaluate.
One other side to contemplate is updates. Video games which have been round for a very long time usually obtain common updates. Generally, these adjustments displease gamers who’ve caught with the sport for the reason that starting, and are tendentially much less open to vary.
Total, the research concludes that live-service, technique, combating, and open-ended survival video games had the best paradox charges. Soulslike video games are infamous for being arduous to grasp, which could make you suppose that they’d undergo attributable to critiques from annoyed gamers. Nonetheless, soulslike, JRPGs, and indie video games confirmed the bottom paradox charges.
“The sample was noticed to be strongly linked to style construction. Genres with excessive paradox charges have been principally these with open-ended, service-dependent, or session-based titles the place participant expertise relies upon closely on stability updates, matchmaking, group conduct, and ongoing developer assist. In distinction, genres with low paradox charges (Souls, Indie, JRPG) have been often story-driven or self-contained experiences with clear endings, the place dissatisfied gamers have been extra prone to stop early as an alternative of constant to play for a whole lot of hours.”
The researchers imagine that the sunk price fallacy is a cause why gamers with such excessive playtime find yourself with such sturdy destructive emotions in the direction of video games they beloved sooner or later. They’ve invested a lot money and time in these video games that they only can not seem to let go and stop for good, even when the video games have modified to the purpose they do not like them anymore. It seems that round 50 hours is the candy spot, as it’s when gamers are probably to go away optimistic critiques.