On the Influence of Reviews on Play Activity on Steam - A Statistical Approach

Online reviews provide valuable information for consumers, particularly when purchasing goods like video games that rely on information about experiences. This study focuses on using the Steam gaming platform to examine the influence of peer reviews on gameplay behavior. Data was collected from selected users between November 2021 and August 2022. The analysis revealed a significantly higher rate of game play after the creation of a friend’s review. However, the presence of periods with an unusually high frequency of reviews introduced noise, making it challenging to draw clear conclusions. In this paper, we explore the results of this analysis and potential implications.