Google Play Store tweaks ratings system to focus on recent reviews

Google has changed how the Google Play Store calculates overall user ratings, with the goal of making those scores better reflect an app’s recent reception.

It’s one of a handful of developer-focused changes that Google announced during its I/O developer conference this week, and one that specifically aims to improve the store for devs that have offered continued support for their games on the platform.

Starting in August, an app’s Google Play Store rating will give more weight to recent user ratings, as opposed to a score that just averages a lifetime of user ratings. The goal of this shift is to have Play Store ratings that reflect the current state of an app, rather than an aggregate of its lifetime scores that might not accurately reflect changes and updates made in the time since an app's first launch.

The feature is set to roll out on the Google Play Store this fall, but devs can preview their new ratings in the store’s developer panel.

Along with that change, Google also notes that it’s adding a suggested replies feature to let developers quickly respond to common issues brought up in user reviews. More information on that addition and others mentioned during the conference can be found on the Android developer blog.