Can you trust Stellaris's Steam reviews? Adjusted rating 84.2%
Genuinely great 400 positive and 400 negative reviews analyzed · data as of 2026-10-12
Summary
The adjusted rating for Stellaris is 84.2% (95% range 83.7–84.6%), in line with the official 85.8% on Steam. It is based on 400 positive and 400 negative reviews weighted by trust. Verdict: "Genuinely great" (the adjusted rating is 70% or higher and the positive reviews carry high average trust).
Positive reviews contain more very short reviews (35% vs 13% of negative reviews). Average trust is 0.77 on the positive side and 0.87 on the negative side, which pulls the adjusted rating down.
Across 126 months of history, Sep 2026 stands out: review volume and the negative share jumped together. Of 3,461 reviews that month, 87% were negative, and that single month holds 12% of all negative reviews. Excluding it, the positive share in the monthly data rises from 82.9% to 84.5%.
The last 180 days show 73.7%, 12.0 points below the all-time figure. Sentiment over the past six months is weaker.
Japanese-language reviews alone show 78.3% (893 reviews, 95% range 75.5–80.9%), 7.5 points below the overall rating. Players writing in Japanese are noticeably less positive. In the last 180 days, Japanese-language reviews show 61.1%.
The adjusted rating estimates trust from how reviews are written; it does not judge any individual review as fake. Data as of 2026-10-12.
Positive vs negative breakdown
Share of sampled reviews that meet each condition that lowers trust. When a condition is more common on the positive side, the adjusted rating falls below the official one.
| Condition | Positive reviews | Negative reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 hours played at review | 1% | 3% |
| Very short text | 35% | 13% |
| Key activated outside Steam | 33% | 25% |
| Received for free | 1% | 1% |
| Owns very few games | 15% | 8% |
| Over 100 reviews written | 1% | 3% |
| Average trust (1.0 = full) | 0.77 | 0.87 |
The median total playtime of the sampled reviewers is 198.6 hours.
Rating history
Monthly positive and negative review counts since release, as published by Steam.
Shaded months were detected as concentrated waves of negative reviews (2026-09). Detection rule
Recent sentiment
| Period | Positive | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Last 30 days | 75.4% | 195 |
| Last 180 days | 73.7% | 5,395 |
| All time | 85.8% | 196,666 |
| Japanese, last 180 days | 61.1% | 36 |
About this verdict
- Every figure is computed from review data that Steam makes public. No AI estimation is used.
- Review text is never stored or republished. Read the actual reviews on Steam.
- Read the methodology and its limits
- If you disagree with this verdict, please reach us via the contact on the About page. About