Online reviews of computer and video games, short reviews and detailed tests on websites, purchase recommendations and online ratings on Internet portals have been inextricably linked to the gaming industry and the gaming community since the invention of the World Wide Web. Not only specialist journalists, editorial teams and agencies, but since social media, influencers, YouTubers, content creators, companies from the industry and private individuals can also express their opinions about games online and thus have a greater or lesser influence on players' purchasing decisions.
In the last decade in particular, however, various practices have increased, such as covert self-promotion, purchased reviews, fake reviews by bots, unclear distinctions from the manufacturer in private tests, direct or indirect influence on streamers by the industry, but above all opaque mechanisms in the evaluation of games up to the controversial instrument of so-called “review bombing”. The latter involves both justified and unfounded assessments or evaluations of games in large quantities in a relatively short period of time, which can have a more or less strong impact on the image of a developer or publisher and sometimes have significant financial or general economic consequences for them companies can have.
Such artificially created rating imbalances can, under certain circumstances, negatively influence customers' purchasing decisions and disrupt fair competition, especially since they often do not relate directly to the devalued game, but often to partial aspects of the title such as monetization, the manufacturer's company policy, expressed views of developers or can even have political issues as their subject. On the one hand, these practices are perceived as extremely disruptive and unfair; on the other hand, alongside boycotts, they are seen as an effective tool for consumers to combat arbitrariness or lack of insight on the part of manufacturers.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US federal regulatory authority that combines competition supervision and consumer protection under one roof, would like to finally put a stop to these methods and procedures, at least when it comes to commercially organized actions, with new regulations. The authority recently gained notoriety for its unsuccessful attempt to prevent Microsoft's takeover of Activision-Blizzard.
The new regulations, which the FTC had already announced in 2022 and adjusted after public hearings in 2023, were unanimously approved by the internal committee in mid-August 2024. 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, the rules became binding for all US-registered companies in the industry. The regulation officially came into force the week before last. In addition to sales platforms and online shops that offer reviews and ratings for games and films, this mainly affects the online presence of rating portals such as Metacritic, OpenCritic and Steam, which now have to implement the requirements. Steam and Metacritic had previously announced that they would take action against review bombing, fake reviews and abuse through moderation systems. However, this may not be enough for the new rules.
According to the FTC, “fake reviews and testimonials” and “misleading advertising” are now banned. Civil penalties will be imposed for knowing violations. However, the FTC could only focus on commercially launched campaigns. The following six rules are intended to enable users to make a more informed decision based on peer feedback.
- Prohibition of false or fake reviews, purchase recommendations and “celebrity” recommendations: Reviews from fictional people, people who do not exist, fake celebrities or AI-generated fake reviews are no longer permitted. Also, reviews from people who have no experience with the company and its products or services or those whose experiences are misrepresented may not be used. (This can include bots, non-industry review portals and launched review bombing.)
- Prohibition of Purchasing Reviews: Companies are prohibited from offering compensation or other incentives tied to the writing of reviews that express a particular opinion, positive or negative. This includes express and implicit benefits. (This could include editorial teams or content creators who do not explicitly mention this or who are financially dependent on writing reviews. This could have a strong impact, as this practice is common practice in the industry.)
- Prohibition of insider reviews and customer opinions close to the company: Board members and employees as well as relatives or acquaintances of employees are prohibited from giving reviews of products unless the special connection to the company is pointed out.
- Ban on corporate-controlled review websites: Corporations, media, publishing and development companies as well as publishers cannot provide reviews of products if they cannot prove that their opinions are independent. (It is not yet known which disclosure mechanisms will be provided.)
- Prohibition on Suppressing Reviews: Companies are prohibited from using intimidation (mental or physical), coercion, public accusations, or legal threats to prevent or remove reviews. Claims that positive or negative reviews are in the majority are also not permitted if they came about through intimidation, etc. (Scandals involving pressurized journalists attested to the problem. A ban could be a protection.)
- Prohibition on misuse of fake social media indicators: It is prohibited to knowingly buy or sell fake social media influence indicators. This includes followers and views that emanate from hacked or hijacked accounts, bot- or AI-generated identities, or accounts that misrepresent influence and importance for commercial purposes. (The prevalence of bots and purchased followers makes containment by the FTC extremely difficult.)
The FTC hopes that the new regulation will ensure fair competition without distortions, clear purchasing recommendations without causing confusion, protection for consumers and more independence and trustworthiness of real reviews and ratings in the USA. It remains to be seen exactly how this will affect the affected platforms, exactly what legal recourse the authority has and whether this will actually mean an end to review bombing – even if the FTC did not explicitly aim for this – and fake reviews.