How to Fish review curve: the day-by-day numbers
Steam serves its review histogram through a separate endpoint, and it gives you something the store page does not: the exact number of reviews for each single day. We pulled it on 31 August 2026 and broke the numbers down.
Week over week
| week | positive | negative | total | positive rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-26 August | 21,820 | 1,390 | 23,210 | 94.0% |
| 27-31 August | 15,137 | 748 | 15,885 | 95.3% |
The second stretch is two days shorter, so the smaller total is expected. The interesting part is elsewhere: the positive share went up, not down — from 94.0% to 95.3%. A hit usually goes the other way: week one is written by people who were waiting for the game, then casual buyers arrive and the average sags. That did not happen here.
Day by day
| date | positive | negative | total | positive rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20 (Thu) | 739 | 28 | 767 | 96.3 % |
| Aug 21 (Fri) | 1,753 | 101 | 1,854 | 94.6 % |
| Aug 22 (Sat) | 3,365 | 228 | 3,593 | 93.7 % |
| Aug 23 (Sun) | 4,245 | 290 | 4,535 | 93.6 % |
| Aug 24 (Mon) | 4,207 | 248 | 4,455 | 94.4 % |
| Aug 25 (Tue) | 3,760 | 247 | 4,007 | 93.8 % |
| Aug 26 (Wed) | 3,751 | 248 | 3,999 | 93.8 % |
| Aug 27 (Thu) | 4,143 | 208 | 4,351 | 95.2 % |
| Aug 28 (Fri) | 3,277 | 159 | 3,436 | 95.4 % |
| Aug 29 (Sat) | 3,178 | 162 | 3,340 | 95.1 % |
| Aug 30 (Sun) | 3,091 | 146 | 3,237 | 95.5 % |
| Aug 31 (Mon) | 1,448 | 73 | 1,521 | 95.2 % |
31 August was an incomplete day when we took the reading, so its number is naturally lower.
What the curve shows
The peak is not launch day. The game came out on 20 August, but the most reviews landed on 23 August — 4,535 in one day, the sixth day on sale. The reason is mundane: people need to play first, and Steam itself asks reviewers not to rush.
Weekends carry it. 22-24 August (Sat-Sun-Mon) is three days in a row above 4,000 reviews. After that the curve holds steady with no collapse.
Worst day by percentage is 23 August at 93.6%. The best is 30 August at 95.5%. That is a spread of about two percentage points across 12 days — the rating is stable.
What we do NOT know
The days add up to 39,095 reviews. Steam’s own counter at the same moment reported 43,902. The difference is 4,807 reviews, almost 11%.
We found no explanation for that gap and we are not going to invent one. The
obvious first guess — reviews from copies bought outside Steam — does not fit:
there are 5,197 of those, a different number. The histogram may count only a
certain purchase type, or drop deleted reviews. We tried varying the request
parameters (purchase_type, review_type, language) and Steam’s answer never
changed, byte for byte.
So: the daily breakdown above is accurate relative to itself, and that is what it is good for — comparing days against each other. Take the absolute total from the store page, not from the sum of the column.
Frequently asked questions
When were the most reviews written?
23 August 2026 — 4,535 reviews in one day. That is the sixth day after launch, not release day.
Is the rating falling over time?
No. The week of 20-26 August was 94.0% positive; 27-31 August was 95.3%. The positive share went up.
Why do the days not add up to the total?
The days sum to 39,095; Steam's counter says 43,902. We have not explained the 4,807 gap and we are not inventing an explanation.
Where do these numbers come from?
From Steam's official review histogram, read on 31 August 2026.