Metacritic
Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts launched Metacritic in January 2001 after two years of development. The trio had been working on the project since 1999 when they first conceived the idea to aggregate reviews across multiple media types. Rotten Tomatoes already existed for movies, but these three saw an opportunity to expand that model to video games, music albums, and television shows. Their University of Southern California connection helped bring the legal expertise needed to build a scalable platform. In 2005, CNET purchased the site, marking its first major ownership change. CBS Corporation later acquired both CNET and Metacritic as part of their expanding digital portfolio. Red Ventures bought Metacritic and other CNET titles in 2020, continuing the cycle of corporate consolidation. Fandom, Inc. completed the latest acquisition in 2022, bringing the site under new management. Each transition reflected broader trends in how online review platforms became valuable assets within larger media conglomerates.
Metacritic converts every critic and user review into a percentage score ranging from zero to one hundred. This conversion happens either by calculating the original rating or through subjective decisions about review quality. Before averaging scores, the system adjusts them based on each critic's popularity, reputation, and total number of published reviews. Certain publications receive greater weight because of their stature within the industry. Games Editor Marc Doyle explained in 2008 that video game audiences are more informed than film or music fans due to higher investment costs. The site uses color coding with green, yellow, or red indicators to show overall sentiment at a glance. A summary appears alongside each review along with links back to the original source publication. Despite this transparency, Metacritic refuses to reveal the specific weights assigned to individual reviewers. This opacity has become a central point of criticism throughout the platform's history.
Businesses use Metacritic scores to predict future sales figures for games and other entertainment products. Nick Wingfield wrote in The Wall Street Journal during 2007 that the site influences both game sales and publisher stock values. Executives claim low scores can damage long-term sales potential across multiple genres. Marc Doyle told The Guardian that major publishers conducted statistical surveys showing correlations between high metascores and stronger sales performance. Financial analysts treat Metacritic as an early indicator of a game's commercial success before official data becomes public. In 2015, researchers analyzed over eighty-eight Xbox 360 and eighty PS3 titles from 2012 but found no direct impact on actual sales numbers. Publishers have used scores to determine developer bonuses, creating real financial consequences for creative teams. Fallout: New Vegas received an average score of eighty-four points, missing Bethesda Softworks' threshold by one point. Developer Obsidian Entertainment received no additional bonus despite selling five million units and generating three hundred million dollars in revenue. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello presented charts to Wall Street analysts in 2008 showing declining critical ratings for their portfolio. Microsoft delisted underperforming Xbox Live Arcade games using Metacritic averages later that same year.
Critics argue that converting all scoring systems into a single percentage scale distorts original reviews. An A grade equals one hundred while an F becomes zero, forcing diverse evaluation methods into uniform metrics. Joe Dodson, former editor at GameRevolution, criticized sites like Metacritic for producing scores he considered too low. Marc Doyle defended the system, stating every scale should convert directly to the website's range from zero to one hundred. Publishers often try to persuade staff to exclude unfair reviews, yet once included, no publication gets omitted. The Washington Post assigned Uncharted 4 a rating of forty out of one hundred, triggering reader petitions to remove it as a trusted source. Metacritic does not publish updated review scores even when technical issues get patched by developers. Video game designer Raphaël Colantonio called this policy misleading and accused it of encouraging safe boring games. Several outlets including Kotaku and Eurogamer dropped numerical reviews entirely after criticizing the site's influence. Douglas Albright, president of Signal Studios, described the platform as having no standards following a review bombing incident. Users can create multiple sock puppet accounts to manipulate scores through coordinated negative campaigns. In July 2020, Metacritic added a thirty-six-hour waiting period for user reviews to reduce such manipulation attempts.
Metacritic won two Webby Awards in 2010 and 2015 for excellence within the Guides Ratings Reviews category. These honors recognized the site's role as the foremost online aggregation platform for video games. In June 2018, the company introduced the Must-See label for movies achieving eighty-one points or higher with at least fifteen professional critics. September 2018 brought the Must-Play certification for video games scoring ninety percent or more with similar reviewer minimums. The site maintains that its purpose remains educating gamers rather than serving industry financial interests. Marc Doyle stated repeatedly that Metacritic has nothing to do with how publishers use their numbers internally. Despite these claims, the platform continues facing pressure from both developers and critics regarding transparency. Some publications have chosen qualitative assessments over numerical ratings to avoid appearing on the site. The introduction of new labels represents an attempt to standardize quality thresholds across different media formats. Policy changes around user reviews reflect ongoing efforts to balance openness with integrity in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
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Common questions
Who founded Metacritic and when was it launched?
Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts launched Metacritic in January 2001 after two years of development. The trio had been working on the project since 1999 when they first conceived the idea to aggregate reviews across multiple media types.
What is the ownership history of Metacritic from 2005 to 2022?
CNET purchased the site in 2005 before CBS Corporation acquired both CNET and Metacritic as part of their expanding digital portfolio. Red Ventures bought Metacritic and other CNET titles in 2020, and Fandom Inc completed the latest acquisition in 2022.
How does Metacritic calculate scores for video games and movies?
Metacritic converts every critic and user review into a percentage score ranging from zero to one hundred by calculating the original rating or through subjective decisions about review quality. The system adjusts scores based on each critic's popularity, reputation, and total number of published reviews before averaging them.
Do Metacritic scores directly impact game sales figures according to research?
In 2015 researchers analyzed over eighty-eight Xbox 360 and eighty PS3 titles from 2012 but found no direct impact on actual sales numbers. Despite this finding publishers have used scores to determine developer bonuses creating real financial consequences for creative teams.
When did Metacritic introduce the Must-See and Must-Play labels?
The company introduced the Must-See label for movies achieving eighty-one points or higher with at least fifteen professional critics in June 2018. September 2018 brought the Must-Play certification for video games scoring ninety percent or more with similar reviewer minimums.