After spending four successful years as a mobile-exclusive title, Blue Archive recently made its debut on Steam earlier this month. The launch appeared promising, reaching over 20,000 concurrent players and accumulating more than 10,000 Steam reviews. However, according to a now-deleted post on the Nexon forums, the developer allegedly ran an in-game event encouraging players to submit reviews on Valve`s platform, an action explicitly prohibited by Steamworks documentation.
The details of the in-game event stated that once Blue Archive`s Steam review count hit the 10,000 mark, all players would be rewarded with five Gift Choice Boxes and five Beautiful Bouquets within the game. This event was scheduled to run from July 4th to July 11th, but any mention of it has since been removed from the game. Notably, the number of Steam reviews has indeed surpassed Nexon`s 10,000 goal.
As pointed out by a user on the game`s Steam forums, the Steamworks guidelines clearly state that it is not permissible “to abuse or artificially manipulate the review system” and that no one should “solicit reviews in exchange for any games, DLC, money, or other rewards.” The only stated exceptions are providing review copies to press or content creators. Furthermore, developers are instructed not to “ask customers to review” games from within the game application itself. GameSpot has reportedly reached out to Nexon for a statement regarding the situation.
Blue Archive is a tactical RPG featuring gacha mechanics, which involve a system of random draws using in-game currency called Pyroxene to acquire students, or characters. Limited recruitment events periodically increase the probability of obtaining specific students, motivating players to spend more Pyroxene in pursuit of desired anime characters.
Blue Archive isn`t the only anime-styled game currently performing well on Steam. Following its recent release, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is also seeing significant player numbers, peaking at over 50,000 concurrent users so far.