Minimalist Steady

We compare the last 3 complete months with the same 3 months a year earlier, which takes out the season. Reviews are counted on the tag’s paid games only (free-to-play games have no monthly review history with us), so releases are counted the same way: paid releases. A tag needs at least 30 paid releases and 1,000 reviews in both periods, and no more than 50% of its releases in the two years free to play; otherwise it is “too few”. Rising: review volume up 20% or more, by at least as much as paid releases, and no more than 50% of that growth from a single game. Cooling: review volume down 20% or more. Anything else: Steady.

Reviews written are summed over 6,044 paid Minimalist games whose review history we re-read on or after Oct 1, 2026, so their last complete month is whole; 0 more, last read before that, are left out of every month alike (we re-read a game about once a week).

Our follower history starts Jul 13, 2026, so the 30-day change has nothing older to compare with. A game carries many tags and counts in each. Correlation only: a trend describes the past, it does not forecast.