What Did Nexon Do?
On July 3, 2025, Nexon launched a “Steam Client Grand Opening Celebration, Steam Review Event” for its game Blue Archive. The pitch was simple: if the game reached 10,000 reviews on Steam by July 11, all players would receive five Gift Choice Boxes and five Beautiful Bouquets in-game. The company didn’t ask for positive reviews. Just any reviews. That technicality doesn’t matter. Offering any kind of reward in exchange for a review is a clear violation of Steam’s policy.
That’s not up for interpretation. Steam’s rules explicitly state that developers may not “abuse or artificially manipulate the review system,” nor “solicit reviews in exchange for any games, DLC, money, or other rewards.” The only exceptions are for press and creators who are given copies of the game to review.
Nexon knew what it was doing. This wasn’t a community giveaway. It was a calculated strategy to inflate visibility and legitimacy on Steam. One that directly undermines the integrity of the review system.
Steam’s Silence Sends the Wrong Message
After players and media called out the event for what it was, blatant review manipulation, Nexon quietly deleted the forum post and scrubbed the event from the game’s Steam page. The rewards, however, were still delivered. As of this writing, Valve hasn’t responded publicly. That silence speaks volumes.
There’s a bigger issue here than just a one-time policy violation. It’s about consistency, accountability, and whether Steam is willing to enforce its own rules. Especially when a major publisher is involved.
Nexon’s History Isn’t Just a Footnote
This isn’t Nexon’s first dance with controversy.
- MapleStory Loot Box Scandal (2024): Nexon was fined a record ₩11.6 billion (~$8.9M USD) for manipulating drop rates in loot boxes. Sometimes setting the odds of winning certain options to zero without informing players. It sparked Korea’s largest gaming class-action lawsuit.
- Sudden Attack Fines (2018): Another loot box controversy, another fine. This time for misleading drop rate claims.
- Frequent Game Shutdowns: Nexon has a reputation for abruptly shutting down games shortly after launch, even after players have spent money.
- Aggressive Monetization and Pay-to-Win Models: Criticisms around prioritizing profit over player experience are a recurring theme.
- Legal Pressure Tactics: In 2023, Nexon pursued legal action against Ironmace over Dark and Darker, even leading to a police raid and a temporary Steam takedown.
This pattern matters. If Steam continues to allow companies with repeat offenses to push boundaries without consequence, it tells every other publisher that they can get away with it too. As long as they’re big enough.
A Strong Warning Isn’t Enough
At first, I thought maybe this was a case for a three-strike system. It sounds fair. Here’s the problem: systems like that are meant to be lenient toward developers who accidentally cross the line. Not for repeat offenders who test the limits on purpose.
Nexon has shown a pattern of behavior that suggests they’d use two of those three strikes just to see how far they can go. By the time that third strike hits, the damage is already done.
That’s why Steam can’t just issue a warning and walk away. If I were making the call, I’d make the policy clear:
One violation? Strong public warning.
A second violation? The game gets delisted.
A public statement is key. Not just to punish Nexon, but to warn every developer: manipulate reviews, and you risk losing your place on the platform.
Accountability Needs to Be a Two-Way Street
There’s one more layer to this that no one’s talking about. Steam users who participated in the event and left reviews also broke the rules. That needs to be addressed too.
When users write incentivized reviews, positive or not, they’re part of the manipulation. I think a three-strike system does work here, with some transparency built in. Here’s what I’d propose:
- If a user writes a review that violates Steam’s policy, an icon is placed by their name on their review history.
- After three violations, they lose the ability to write reviews or post on Steam forums.
- They still keep access to their games and library. This isn’t about punishment. It’s about preserving the trust and value of the review system.
People should know whether they’re reading an honest review or one written by someone who’s abused the system before. It’s about transparency, not shame.
So… What Happens Now?
This isn’t just about Nexon. This is about what Steam, and by extension Valve, stands for. Do they want a platform where reviews are meaningful, where players can trust what they’re reading? Or are they okay letting that trust erode, so long as the big publishers keep making money?
If Valve wants to maintain any credibility, it needs to show that no one is above the rules. That includes Nexon. That includes the players who helped them. That includes anyone trying to game the system.
Once you lose trust in reviews, you lose trust in the platform itself. In a digital age where much of our decision-making relies on that trust. That’s not a risk Steam can afford to take.
Steam doesn’t need to overreact. But it does need to respond. If manipulation like this goes unchecked, it opens the door for every other publisher to do the same. When the review system becomes meaningless, so does the platform built around it.
