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Metacritic’s game Metascore is a weighted average of selected professional critics’ scores converted to a 0–100 scale—not a vote by players and not a simple average of every review online. The method can make unlike scoring systems look comparable, but it also hides differences in what a score means, how much outlets disagree, and how much influence each publication has. A three-star review converted to 60 is a clear example: that number can look negative even when the outlet meant “generally positive to mixed.”
How does Metacritic calculate the Metascore?
Metacritic gathers reviews from an approved list of publications, converts each critic’s score to a 0–100 scale, then combines those converted numbers as a weighted average. Its Support page, updated 19 October 2023, describes a Metascore as a “weighted average” of reviews from top critics and publications. Metacritic says some publications count more than others because it judges them by qualities such as detail, insight and stature.
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- Metacritic identifies eligible reviews. Staff look through an approved list of publications for reviews of the game. The list is public and international, and it can change as Metacritic adds or removes outlets.
- Each numeric score is converted. A score given on a five-star, four-star, letter-grade or other supported scale is mapped onto a 0–100 scale.
- Scores are combined with undisclosed weights. The result is not necessarily the arithmetic mean of the displayed converted scores.
- A score appears after enough reviews arrive. Metacritic’s published threshold is at least four critics’ reviews; before then, a page may show “tbd.”
For games, Metacritic says the scores listed come from the publications themselves: “We do not assign game scores.” This is different from its treatment of some unscored movie reviews, for which it may infer a number from the review’s tone. A game review without a numeric score can appear on the page but does not enter the Metascore.
Reader votes and comments are excluded. Metacritic’s FAQ says the Metascore averages published critic reviews in the page’s chart, not user votes. The separate User Score is an audience rating on a 0–10 scale; it is not an ingredient in the critic score and should not be treated as confirmation of it.
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What does a 3/5 review become on Metacritic?
A three-out-of-five review converts to 60, because Metacritic maps five-star ratings linearly to 100. That conversion can make a review sound more negative on Metacritic than it does in the publication’s own language.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz in 2025, Metacritic co-founder Marc Doyle explained that 2.5 out of five becomes 50. The corresponding linear conversion makes 3/5 equal 60. A 60 falls in the game Metascore’s “mixed or average” band, even though an outlet may use three stars for a game it regards as generally positive or as one step short of a stronger recommendation.
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This mismatch became conspicuous after Eurogamer adopted a five-star system in May 2023. In an October 2026 example reported by AUTOMATON, several Eurogamer reviews displayed as 60s on Metacritic were 3/5 reviews. Those games’ Metascores were above 80. Eurogamer’s three-star rating was not a Metacritic score of 60 assigned by the publication; 60 was Metacritic’s conversion.
For Phantom Blade Zero, AUTOMATON reported that the Metascore moved from 91 to 88 after Eurogamer’s 3/5 review was added. The change illustrates why a score can shift when a review arrives, especially near a threshold, but it does not reveal Eurogamer’s weight or establish that every outlet has the same influence. Doyle said an unweighted result would usually differ by “maybe a point or two.”
Conversions are not consistent across every scale
The numbers can also conceal that a “three” does not mean the same thing across rating systems. Metacritic’s published four-star table maps 3/4 to 75, while its five-star conversion maps 3/5 to 60. On the four-star scale, three stars are generally favorable for games; on the five-star scale, three stars are mixed or average.
| Original rating | Metacritic conversion | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 3/5 stars | 60/100 | Linear five-star conversion; mixed or average for games |
| 2.5/5 stars | 50/100 | Conversion example stated by Marc Doyle in 2025 |
| 3/4 stars | 75/100 | Generally favorable for games |
| 3.5/4 stars | 88/100 | Generally favorable for games |
| B | 75/100 | Letter-grade conversion published by Metacritic |
| C | 50/100 | Metacritic maps C to 50, not to a school-style passing mark |
| F | 0/100 | Metacritic maps F to zero |
Metacritic’s published letter table also maps A or A+ to 100, A− to 91, B+ to 83, B− to 67, C+ to 58, C− to 42, and D− to 16. Doyle has called letter-grade conversion the especially controversial mapping: the scale treats F as zero, whereas some readers may expect a school-grade interpretation. The figures are conversion rules, not claims that outlets intended those exact meanings.
Metacritic’s current Support explanation scopes its “graded on a curve” description to movies and music. That language should not be carried over to game Metascores: the current game-specific method describes converting and weighting scores, not applying that movie-and-music normalization.
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What do Metacritic’s game score colors mean?
For games, 75 is the threshold for “generally favorable” and the green band; 90 begins “universal acclaim.” Metacritic’s game bands are stricter than its labels for movies, TV and music.
| Metacritic game label | Game score | Movie, TV and music score |
|---|---|---|
| Universal acclaim | 90–100 | 81–100 |
| Generally favorable | 75–89 | 61–80 |
| Mixed or average | 50–74 | 40–60 |
| Generally unfavorable | 20–49 | 20–39 |
| Overwhelming dislike | 0–19 | 0–19 |
The five descriptions collapse visually into green, yellow and red on the site. That makes the 73-to-75 boundary particularly noticeable: a two-point difference moves a game from mixed/yellow to generally favorable/green. Metacritic’s older explanation for the games threshold is that game-review publications commonly define scores below 50 as negative, while scores in the upper 70s or higher tend to signal an unequivocally good game.
A game with a score of 90 or higher can receive the Must-Play badge only if at least 15 publications have reviewed it. A high score alone is not enough. For comparison, Metacritic’s Must-See movie badge has a different threshold—81 and 15 publications—and the company reported that about 5% of movies in its database qualified. It has not published an equivalent Must-Play percentage in the material available here.
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The number is useful as a compact index of selected critic reviews, but it is not a full account of what critics said or what players will experience. Its limits come from the conversion rules, hidden weights, aggregation, timing and the fact that a single average can erase disagreement.
1. The conversion can conflict with an outlet’s verdict
As the 3/5 example shows, Metacritic’s normalized number may not preserve an outlet’s own verbal recommendation. Readers who see only “60” can mistake the conversion for the review’s original score or intent. When the original scale is visible, read both: “3/5, converted to 60” is more informative than “the outlet gave it a 60.”
2. The weighting is real but not reproducible from public information
Metacritic has not published its numeric weights or a formula readers can reproduce. Asked in a 2023 FAQ whether it would disclose how critics are weighted, it answered, “Absolutely not.” Doyle called the weighting its “secret sauce” in 2025 and said veteran, highly respected critics can have somewhat more influence. He also said weights can be downgraded if experienced staff leave and are replaced by freelancers.
Doyle described an outlet-admission process that includes a questionnaire, checks on review frequency and scoring philosophy, and questions about whether the publication has ever given a game a very low score. Those judgments are not a public numeric rubric. A Full Sail University reverse-engineering attempt presented around GDC 2013 was rejected by Metacritic; Doyle later said the study was incorrect. Its proposed tier list should not be treated as the actual formula.
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Metacritic’s public publication list was updated on 17 October 2026. It includes large international outlets and smaller specialist publications, but inclusion does not mean equal weight. Because the weight values are secret, outsiders cannot calculate precisely how much a particular review moved a score.
3. An average can hide whether critics agree
Two games with similar Metascores may have very different review patterns. Perthro reported that Crimson Desert on PC had a 77 from 119 critics, with individual scores ranging from 45 to 100 and a page split of 84 positive, 30 mixed and one negative. By contrast, its account of Saros on PS5 counted 52 scores of exactly 90 among 139 scored reviews, with 131 positive, eight mixed and none negative. A single average does not show whether a game inspired broad agreement or sharply divided reactions.
Another way to see the flattening comes from Vertical Slice Games’ 2026 analysis of its own catalog: 437 games whose average critic scores fell between 70 and 76 had recommendation-share figures ranging from 28% to 81%. That is not a Metacritic statistic and should not be read as one. It demonstrates why a similar average can coexist with very different proportions of critics willing to recommend a game.
Look at the positive/mixed/negative split and review count alongside the score. Where available, a recommendation percentage adds a different signal: it answers how many critics recommend a game, rather than how high their numeric scores average. Vertical Slice Games reported its catalog-wide average as 76.5/100; that is its own database figure, not Metacritic’s published average.
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4. A first score is frozen even when the game changes
Metacritic uses the first final score a publication sends and does not replace it when that outlet later revises or re-reviews the game. Doyle told GamesIndustry.biz in 2025: “Your first published final score will be the score that Metacritic goes with, and we will not change it.” He said the policy hardened after mid-2000s pressure campaigns and cases in which an outlet withdrew a review score and republished a higher one shortly afterward.
The policy preserves a record of launch-era criticism, but it means a Metascore is not a live measure of the version currently being played. No Man’s Sky on PC remained at 61 on Metacritic while Steam user sentiment later recovered to Very Positive after years of updates. Cyberpunk 2077 has also been cited as a score frozen at its December 2020 launch-period reception. For a live-service or heavily updated game, distinguish the product critics reviewed from the build available now.
Some publications, including IGN, may publish a re-review when an older recommendation no longer reflects the game. Such a review does not replace the original Metascore. Doyle has said he would prefer a distinct page for a genuinely distinct re-release and is open to linking later reviews while keeping the launch-era score intact.
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5. Early scores can move as more reviews arrive
Reviews do not all appear at once. Metacritic’s descriptions have placed the review window from about a month before release to several months after it. That means an early score may be based on a small set and can shift as more publications are counted. Perthro’s September 2026 account of Marvel’s Wolverine recorded 78 from 112 reviews and then 77 from 121 during the same review cycle. The score alone does not communicate how complete that sample is; include the review count when discussing it.
Metacritic requires four critic reviews before displaying a Metascore, but that minimum is not a guarantee of stability. A score supported by 20 reviews has fewer inputs than one supported by 120. The weighting adds another reason not to interpret a small change as a precise measurement of quality.
6. Platform scores are not interchangeable
Metacritic now separates scores by platform because versions can differ. A PS5 score does not automatically represent the Xbox or PC version, and a platform page may still show “tbd” if it lacks four eligible reviews. Insider Gaming reported in October 2026 that Halo: Campaign Evolved had 60 critic reviews on PS5 and 42 on Xbox, illustrating that the samples can differ even for the same game.
7. Score thresholds can matter outside the review page
Some publishers have tied staff bonuses to Metascore targets. GamesIndustry.biz reported that Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas missed a bonus after scoring 84 rather than the targeted 85; reported platform scores included 84 on PC and Xbox 360 and 82 on PlayStation 3. That is an example of a contract using a threshold, not evidence that Metacritic sets those contracts or that a one-point difference measures a meaningful change in player experience.
In 2026, critic Paul Tassi’s remark that “60s shut down studios” was a warning about the industry’s use of scores, quoted by AUTOMATON—not a Metacritic policy statement or a measured claim about studio closures. Industry commentary has also argued that pressure around launch scores can favor polish and stability over ambitious design, but that is an opinion about incentives rather than a quantified causal finding.
Are user reviews included in the Metascore?
No. User reviews do not contribute to the Metascore; the separate User Score is an audience rating. The two numbers can diverge because they come from different groups and answer different questions.
According to Perthro’s 2026 account of the policy, Metacritic began delaying player ratings until 36 hours after a game’s release in July 2020, following review-bombing around The Last of Us Part II. That timing means an embargo-day critic score can appear before a User Score exists. Treat the delay detail as Perthro’s report of the policy; it is not part of the critic-score formula.
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Steam’s user-review summary is different again: it reflects purchaser reviews and presents the share marked positive, with labels such as “Very Positive.” It is not a critic average or a 0–100 score. A high Steam label does not prove a Metascore wrong, and a low User Score does not invalidate critic reviews; each reflects a different population and method.
Metacritic vs OpenCritic: which is more accurate?
Neither site is automatically more accurate; they summarize critic response differently. Metacritic emphasizes a weighted average with undisclosed weights, while OpenCritic’s Top Critic Average is described as a simple average of top-critic numeric scores. OpenCritic also shows a Critics Recommend percentage that can count an outlet’s clear verdict even when the review has no numeric score.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Whose opinions appear in the headline? | Selected professional critics | Top critics for Top Critic Average; a broader critic set for Critics Recommend | Purchaser reviews |
| How is the headline number formed? | Weighted average; publication weights are not public | Simple average of top-critic numeric scores | Share of user reviews marked positive |
| What happens to a 3/5 review? | Converted to 60/100 | A clear recommendation can count in Critics Recommend even without a numeric score | Not applicable to the purchaser-review summary |
| How many reviews are needed for the headline critic score? | At least four for a Metascore | At least three numeric top-critic reviews for Top Critic Average | Not stated here as a fixed critic-review threshold |
| Can scores update? | First published final critic score is retained | Perthro reports that an updated review can replace the old one | User sentiment can change as reviews arrive |
| How are strong scores labeled? | Generally favorable at 75; universal acclaim at 90 | Mighty at 84+, Strong at 75–83, Fair at 66–74, Weak at 65 or below | Text labels such as Very Positive |
OpenCritic’s recommendation share can clarify a result that the average obscures. Perthro gave the example of Hot Wheels Infinite Rush: 74 for OpenCritic’s Top Critic Average and 57% of critics recommending it. The average signals the level of scores; the percentage indicates how many critics crossed a recommendation threshold. OpenCritic’s threshold may vary by outlet, according to Vertical Slice Games’ 2026 critique, so even that percentage is not a universal yes/no test.
Metacritic’s advantage for readers is a longstanding, curated critic index with platform-specific pages and visible review breakdowns. Its trade-off is that the weights and formula cannot be independently reproduced. OpenCritic makes the headline average unweighted and offers a recommendation measure, but its top-critic selection and outlet-specific recommendation rules also shape what is counted. Steam answers a different question altogether: how purchasers rated their experience. For a fuller picture, compare the original review language, review count, platform, and recommendation split rather than treating one site as a final verdict.
How should you read a Metascore responsibly?
Use it as a fast summary of selected launch-period critic reviews, then check the details that the headline number leaves out.
- Confirm the platform. Make sure the score belongs to the version you are considering, not another system.
- Check the count and timing. A score with a small or still-growing review set is less settled than one supported by many reviews.
- Read the original scale. A 60 may be a converted 3/5, not a publication’s own 60/100 verdict.
- Inspect the review split. Similar averages can conceal consensus or substantial disagreement.
- Separate the score from the current build. For games changed substantially after launch, read recent coverage and update history; the Metascore preserves the original critic score.
- Keep critic and user signals distinct. Metascore, User Score, Steam sentiment and recommendation share are not interchangeable measurements.
The headline is most useful when read as an index—not a verdict. It can help locate a game within the review conversation, but its conversion, hidden weighting, platform sample and launch-era snapshot matter whenever a small number is being treated as decisive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Metacritic show tbd instead of a game score?
Metacritic’s published minimum is four critic reviews before it displays a Metascore. A page can therefore have reviews listed but remain pending if it has not reached that threshold.
How many reviews does a game need for the Must-Play badge?
It needs a Metascore of at least 90 and reviews from at least 15 publications. Metacritic has not published a comparable percentage showing how many games earn Must-Play.
Can a game have a Metascore on one console but not another?
Yes. Metacritic maintains separate scores by platform, and each platform needs enough eligible reviews to qualify. Different review counts can mean one version has a score while another remains pending.
Does a low Metascore mean a game is bad now?
Not necessarily: the score preserves the first final critic score rather than tracking patches or later re-reviews. For a heavily updated game, distinguish the launch version critics scored from the current release.
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