Yes, you can post a Steam review without buying, as long as the game was launched on your account by a free license, gift, key, family share, or event.
Steam ties reviews to play on your own account, not just to a receipt. That means you don’t need a direct purchase to share feedback. You do need the title in your library through a valid route and at least a short bit of playtime. Below you’ll find clear rules, corner cases, and tips that keep your feedback visible and useful.
Posting A Steam Review Without A Purchase — What Counts
Valve allows reviews from anyone who has launched the product on Steam. That includes a free-to-play install, a key from a bundle, a gift, a Free Weekend, or a session through Family Sharing. The system checks for playtime on your account. If you’ve played, you can write. If you’ve never launched it, you can’t. Valve explains the intent on its overview page for Steam Reviews, which frames reviews as notes from people who’ve played on Steam.
| How You Got The Game | Can You Review? | Extra Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free-to-play install | Yes | Counts as owned on your account once launched; playtime shows on the review. |
| Gift from a friend | Yes | Review appears, but may not influence the score if not a direct store purchase. |
| Key from a bundle/store | Yes | Visible review; review score impact excluded by Valve’s 2016 policy. |
| Free Weekend access | Yes | Launch during the event enables reviewing on your account. |
| Family Sharing session | Yes | You can write once you’ve played through your account profile. |
| Never launched on Steam | No | No library playtime, no review slot. |
Why Some Reviews Don’t Change The Store Score
In 2016, Valve changed how the store’s “Overall” and “Recent” scores work. Reviews written by users who activated a product with a key, received a gift, or held a temporary license still show up on the page, but the score badges on the top of the page ignore those. Valve did this to curb paid key abuse and keep the badge closer to feedback from direct store buyers. You can read Valve’s note, More Updates to the Steam Customer Review System, for the reasoning and examples.
This change doesn’t block your voice. It only affects the math behind the percentage label. Your text, your thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and your hours still appear to readers, and shoppers can toggle filters to view all sources. Press reports at the time covered the shift and its impact on store pages.
Minimums, Limits, And Edge Cases
Steam’s public pages describe reviews as posts from people with recorded playtime. In practice, the client prompts many players to write once a few minutes of time are recorded. Community guidance has long pointed to a five-minute floor. Valve’s Steamworks page for partners also states that reviews come from users who have recorded playtime.
There are quirks. A limited account can’t post much in discussions until it has small caps of spend/play recorded. That doesn’t change the review rule itself; it just affects new accounts.
| Requirement Or Situation | Applies? | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Some playtime on your profile | Yes | Reviews come from users who have played; many see a prompt after a few minutes. |
| Direct purchase needed | No | Play on your account is what matters; free, key, gift, or shared access works. |
| Score impact from non-store licenses | No | Those reviews display but don’t move the score badge. |
| Posting with zero launch | No | No launch, no review option. |
| Language filters or playtime filters | Yes | Readers can filter by language and by hours at review time on store pages. |
| Breaking site rules in a review | No | Abusive or off-topic posts can be reported or removed under Valve’s rules. |
How To Post A Review That Readers Trust
Short and clear wins. Keep it honest. Say what you liked, what tripped you up, and who the game suits. Share rig specs if performance shaped your view. Add hours and the mode you played. If the title has major updates, pin an edit date on your text so readers see when you last checked.
Be Specific About Time
Shoppers can filter by hours at review time. If your view is based on a short session, say that. If you finished the campaign or reached endgame, say that too. A quick heads-up on scope builds trust fast.
Call Out The Platform Story
If you played on Deck, mention that and whether it ran well. Some game pages even show filters for Deck play. Small facts like controller type, upscalers, or shader stutter help readers skip guesswork.
Stick To First-hand Details
Write about what you did and saw. Avoid hearsay. If a bug blocks play, state the step that triggers it. If a patch fixed it, add a quick edit note.
Common Questions People Ask
Can You Write After A Refund?
Yes, as long as the product still shows in your account history with recorded playtime. If the license is fully removed, you may lose the review slot. That’s rare with store refunds inside the normal window since the system keeps playtime data around the review. Valve’s policy pages don’t spell out every refund corner case, so treat this as practical guidance from user reports, not a contract term.
Can A Shared-Library Player Weigh In?
Yes. A session through Family Sharing flags play on your account, which opens the review box. That said, only direct store buyers move the store badge. Shared access still gives your text a spot on the page.
Do Free Events Count?
Yes. If you launched the product during a Free Weekend or similar event, you can post. Your hours will show next to the review like any other player.
Quick Steps To Leave Your Review
- Launch the game so Steam records time on your profile.
- Open the store page and scroll to the review box under the purchase area.
- Pick thumbs-up or thumbs-down, write your text, and hit Post.
That flow is available from the Library page as well. The prompt may appear after a short session once the client sees time played.
Etiquette And Policy In A Nutshell
Stick to the product. No insults. No personal data. No ads. Valve’s rule page covers the basics and sets out what gets moderated. If you see spam or abuse, use the report tools.
What If The Review Box Is Missing?
If you don’t see the box on the store page, check a few basics. First, confirm that the product lives in your Library and that you can hit Play. Next, launch it once and reach the main menu so Steam logs time. Then return to the store page and scroll below the purchase area. If your account is brand new and hasn’t met spend or time thresholds, you may need to play another title for a bit and try again. That small warm-up clears many first-day hiccups.
Still Not There?
Sometimes the prompt hides after you’ve already written a review in the past and then deleted it. In that case, open the product’s hub from your profile and look for your previous post under Activity, then restore or rewrite. If you switched from a beta branch to live or reinstalled, give the client a restart. Cached state can delay the prompt by a session.
How The Score Badge Differs From Your Text
The label at the top of a store page comes from a pool defined by Valve. Reviews tied to direct store purchases flow into that pool. The rest show up on the page and in the community hub, and readers can filter to see them, but they won’t nudge the badge. That split keeps the quick glance metric steady and still preserves broad opinions. Press reports and Valve’s own post explain this design.
What Readers Can Filter
Shoppers can filter by language, time range, and hours when the review was written. That helps a reader jump to notes from long-term players or focus on a patch window. If your view comes from a recent hotfix period, say so in your text so those filters make sense.
Bottom Line For Steam Reviews Without A Purchase
Play on your account is the gate. If you’ve launched the product through any legit route, you can review. Store purchases move the badge; other paths still post your text. Keep it clear and tied to what you played.