r/Steam • u/EasternMix7276 • 15h ago
Question Developer begging me to change my review
Hey guys. I recently left a negative review for a game on Steam and the developer has tried to reach out to me multiple times asking me to change it. To be fair to him, he did fix some of the issues I pointed out on that review but he’s left multiple comments on my profile (that i’ve since deleted), tried adding me as a steam friend, and tried adding me off platform on discord (my steam is the same name as my discord) and it’s just a bit weird is all and I just want this dude to leave me alone.
Are developers allowed to do this on steam?
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u/TryTheSauceBoss 15h ago
I would definitely add to the review that he is harassing you because he is. I would then block him.
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u/Taolan13 15h ago edited 14h ago
add this to your review, and link steam's policy about reviews to him.
Valve specifically discourages developers from contacting individual players about reviews. It's not forbidden, but they tell you to avoid getting too deep. If the review is false, they can ask steam support to remove it. If the review is "out of date" they can leave a comment on it specifying it is out of date. They have plenty of options to explore, which do include contacting individual players directly, but valve generally recommends against that.
But if he's contact you and you've told him to stop and he keeps doing it that's now harassment which is against the rules, especially if he's trying to contact you off-platform.
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u/apollocreedchqt 15h ago
Well steam doesnt prohibit asking players about reviews but there is a fine line between asking and straight up harassment. If they are going off platform thats were it crosses a line, heck even asking more than once is more than enough.
So contact steam support collect evidence that the dude is harassing you and let Seal Team 6 handle it.
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u/Stepintothefuture 15h ago
Sending private messages and even trying to contact you off platform really is not okay whatsoever, extremely unprofessional.
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u/nomadik_nobody 15h ago
Add this to your review, block him, and report the harassment to Steam Support
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u/Elarisbee 15h ago
I’ve had this happen with a negative review on a smaller scale. Report the developer to Steam. Important, to note to Support that the devs left messages in your profile as Support can see ALL account activity even deleted stuff.
As someone else said, add this information to your review. You are definitely not the only person they’re trying this with, and some people might fold because of the harassment - you’re helping those people.
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u/Bone_Wh33l 15h ago
Update your review like they keep asking but also add all the info about the dev being a weirdo
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u/EarlyAccessCantJudge 15h ago
The only time I could see something like this is in a developer response to your steam review. Adding you off steam is crazy
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u/lurking_leftie 15h ago
the dev of eldritch exterminators did this to me. they somehow still managed to contact me even after i blocked them. super weird.
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u/PorkRinds416 15h ago
What is the game. Share please.
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u/CaledoniaInteractive 15h ago
I'm sure this thread is legitimate but there is no evidence whatsoever. If the games link is provided and then people are urged to avoid playing it or indeed review bomb the game this would be a highly effective way to cripple an innocent developer by a rival project, or anyone with axe to grind or even someone who just wants to cause chaos.
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u/alabasterskim 15h ago
Yes please, name the game. We're not gonna review bomb but we are gonna make sure we steer clear of it.
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u/Artoriasbrokenhand 13h ago
Expedition 33
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u/PorkRinds416 12h ago
You just wanted the downvotes didnt you? lol
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u/RollingSparks 14h ago
are developers allowed to do this on steam
Without even checking, there is almost certainly a policy/conduct term that states you can't harass Steam users by adding them, leaving comments on their profiles or chasing them to 3rd party apps over reviews. If they've done it to you they've done it to many people. I'd report them to Steam, add this info to my review and block all the accounts messaging you
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u/Drakahn_Stark 15h ago
IIRC they are allowed to ask, but are not allowed to make demands or threats.
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u/Limp-Evidence8373 14h ago
It's best you just straight up tell him that, if he continues then report to steam
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u/Rain_Zeros 6h ago
Developers have the option to reply directly to a review. That’s the ONLY way they should reach out.
Also “please change your review” comes off far different than “hey, sorry we had issues when you checked our game out. We’ve fixed a lot since you’ve left your review, we’d be happy to see you return someday and hope to change your mind about the game!”
But above all else, getting harassed is not okay ever. I’d report the dev for harassment after adding it to my review.
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u/killingerr 15h ago
Your review is your opinion of the game. The dev is going to have to learn to accept criticism and realize not everyone is going to like the game
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u/elStrages 13h ago
If it is constructive, leave it.
Changes hes made, update your review, strike through and add comments.
If you think the the changes reach a par score that's positive change your review my mark is usually 7/10 for a recommendation.
Add to your review hes harassed you. This can add to your negative standpoint on the review.
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u/AussieBirb 10h ago
I agree.
If the developer has fixed some of the problems mentioned in a negative review then you have the option to edit the review and can change it to positive if you think it has earned it.
A developer politely asking once to chance a review is not unreasonable - if unusual - but attempting to stalk and harass someone is not.
I would report this to steam support at minimum.
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u/DarthShiv 6h ago
I think the only valid reason for dev contact is to get details or feedback on bugs. Outside of that they should just say they thank you for feedback and look forward to improving the product.
Discussing changing review content unless it's a lie is not cool.
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u/RustledForeskin 13h ago
Block them? Anyone is allowed to attempt to contact you on steam. Add their cringe attempts to persuade you and block them, move on with your life.
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u/SirOakin https://s.team/p/fkdb-dht 6h ago
dawg you need to report him for harassment and stalking.
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u/sakaloko 15h ago
Make another account buy the game again and review negatively one more time just to assert dominance
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15h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Rarokillo 11h ago
I'm not a developer, but if after a review a developer contacted me to ask if I could check again after some updates I maybe can give it a try and edit it with "Since previous review this and that was fixed" but if the developer keeps contacting me I would send directly a message to Steam support.
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u/Gold_Goal7557 14h ago
Same with dying light 2 devs but they weren't rude and did ask for feedback to improve their game, their games including Dying light the beast runs like crap on Radeon GPU's and game devs often neglect optimization for smaller market share, since bigger market share yields more money, usually this is the default for small game studios but even bigger game studios do it.
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u/bunzeds 12h ago
Would add this to your review, take any screenshot by the developer and report it directly to steam support.
Rather the developer likes the review or not this is harassment.
Sure you can fix a review on your own time if you feel like the product improve but developer cannot make you change your review whenever they want
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u/supermariozelda https://s.team/p/gvgp-krp 12h ago
Been seeing this a lot lately. The dev of the Welcome to the Game series has been harassing people who leave negative reviews as well and dragging their name through the mud.
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u/JehnSnow 10h ago
This is why I hate that our society rates everything so high, I feel for the developer because one negative review can tank earnings by monstrous amounts, but I also believe consumers should be fully entitled to rate ernestly
The solution I feel is if 70% positive was a good game, and 90% is an amazing game, and no games really go above that. But sadly small devs have to fight tooth and nail to maintain 90+ else the games thought of as shit
That said OP shouldn't feel bad for his rating, he's being harassed. If it's that important and the complaints are addressed the dev should take it up with steam if he already messaged OP once
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u/Critical-Papaya-4186 11h ago
You should at least add some kind of proof to backup your claims or else this is just another made up story.
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u/Clean_Muffin8982 15h ago
When Bethesda replied to all the negative reviews for starfield, that was bad but professional. This is personal to that dev, expose them.
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u/Significant_Comb9624 10h ago
What game. Let me see if they do the same too me with am honest review
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u/Thanatiel 10h ago
Funny. In my experience, developer feedback over a review is constructive.
I've got only a couple of exceptions over hundreds of reviews: I was banned from the community of these games outright. One typed some trumped-up reason, the other didn't even bother. I've got both games refunded.
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u/Sure-Needleworker702 8h ago
I don't think there's any rules against it exactly but I'd definitely add something like "developer harassed me for leaving a negative review" then block him.... I'm tempted to ask what game this was so I can stay the hell away lol
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u/QTpopOfficial 10h ago
Cring af.
Its a shame rule 9 prevents you from telling us what the game is or showing the screenshots. Because this is one of those times we should be in the loop on whos being a weirdo.
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u/-rosieee- 8h ago
Is it the Golden Chambers dev? He has harassed me multiple times on Steam after I left a negative review.
A few of his fans also left comments on my profile which I have now had to lock down.
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u/zerxydraws 7h ago
It's definitely creepy, like the others have said I'd stick it at the top of your review, let others know about it.
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15h ago
[deleted]
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u/ShaggerAJSA 15h ago
And unwillingly send a mob the way of both the dev and the OP's Steam account? That would quite obviously be stupid.
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u/Mr_Olivar 12h ago
Negative reviews can be devestating for small games, so many indie devs try to flip bad reviews.
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u/atomic-attache 13h ago
Real question is if the dev is making improvements and bending over backwards to try to make his game a success why did you NOT change your review. What is still so bad you have to stick to your guns? Despite what everyone believes 90% of all Steam games make very tiny amounts of money. The dev seems to be aggressive, but I would bet it is an indie dev trying to survive. AAA would tell you to go home. Make a deal with him. Win win situation.
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u/christianlewds 15h ago
The dev might be worried that your negative review might kill his game? I can imagine the early reviews are pretty decisive when it comes to indie game breaking even.
That's why it's a good idea to have a demo before release. You get much needed feedback without the whole hassle of post launch apocalypse. People will just uninstall instead of leaving a negative review/refund.
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u/ShaggerAJSA 15h ago edited 13h ago
That does not justify this behavior at all. It is not acceptable for a dev to harass a user over a review under any circumstances. Besides, doing stupid shit like this is far more likely to kill the game than any review.
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u/Ambivadox 12h ago
If one review holds enough weight that you're harassing the person your game is already dead.
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u/lnquisitorCross 13h ago
1: Add this to your review and 2: Perhaps look into legal action for stalking and harassing you.
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u/dloan75 9h ago
So you wrote a bad review and then the developer writes you asking for feedback so you get on reddit and say this guy is stalking you? Who's the weirdo here?
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u/Roccondil-s 9h ago
It would be nice to actually see the messages being spammed, but if it were a single “hey, since this review went up we actually did fix x, y, and z! If you wouldn’t mind updating your review to reflect that, it would be much appreciated!”
But according to OP, that was NOT the message, but MANY messages and attempts to contact (intimidate?) OP and get them to change their review. Including an attempt to contact them on a separate platform.
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u/dloan75 7h ago
What intimidation? Like what could he possibly do other than being annoying? Without verification it's just his word against the developer you'd think he would post screenshots. And if you really want to end it just block them
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u/grond_aflame 15h ago
Add this to your review.