After being a mobile exclusive for four successful years, Blue Archive launched on Steam earlier this month. The launch appears successful, with over 20,000 concurrent players and 10,000 Steam reviews. However, a now-deleted Nexon forum post revealed that the developer held an in-game event encouraging players to leave reviews on Steam, a practice strictly forbidden by Steamworks rules.
The event description stated that reaching 10,000 Steam reviews would reward all players with five Gift Choice Boxes and five Beautiful Bouquets in-game. The event was scheduled for July 4-11 but has since been removed from the game. Notably, the game has already surpassed Nexon`s 10,000 review target on Steam.
A user on the Steam forums pointed out that the Steamworks documentation explicitly prohibits “abusing or artificially manipulating the review system” and “soliciting reviews in exchange for any games, DLC, money, or other rewards,” except for providing copies to press or creators for legitimate reviews. The rules also forbid developers from asking customers to review games from within the game itself. GameSpot has contacted Nexon for their response regarding these allegations.
Blue Archive is a tactical RPG featuring gacha mechanics. This system uses the in-game currency, Pyroxene, for random draws to obtain students (characters). Special recruitment events can increase the chance of getting specific students, motivating players to spend more Pyroxene to acquire desired anime girls.
Blue Archive is not the only popular anime-style game on Steam currently. Umamusume: Pretty Derby also achieved high player counts after its release, peaking at over 50,000 concurrent players.