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Mount & Blade: Warband

Mount & Blade: Warband

TaleWorlds Entertainment · released Mar 30, 2010

ActionRPGPCPlayStation 4Xbox One

In a land torn asunder by incessant warfare, it is time to assemble your own band of hardened warriors and enter the fray. Lead your men into battle, expand your realm, and claim the ultimate prize: the throne of Calradia!

Steam page ↗Metacritic 78 · users 8.8 ↗
93
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence
n/a
At launch
98%
Steam all-time
78%
Press
72%
Player sentiment
98%
Recent sentiment

PC 93 · Xbox 52

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 308 sampled Steam reviews (299 positive / 9 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Story & writing4% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Bugs & crashes33% mention it
  • Grind & repetition33% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

92%

26 reviews

5-15h

94%

31 reviews

15-40h

100%

38 reviews

40-100h

98%

53 reviews

100h+

98%

160 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)–786
All-time Steam reviews98%931236
Metacritic user ratings–9221
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)98%94114
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 325 total reviews in window · weighted 244.6 up / 5.6 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (23)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 85
    GameWatcherGameWatcher
    trust 64–

    “Warband is a huge improvement over the original game, but we'd have to wait for a sequel in order to see anything really new and exciting (aside from multiplayer I guess).”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    GameShark
    trust 64–

    “For those that stick around, however, Mount & Blade Warband remains every bit the gem of a game that its predecessor was; more so, actually.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    GamingXP
    trust 63–

    “I played this game for hours, and I still can't stop playing. I fought big battles, conquered castles and cities and nearly forgot about the weak graphics. Too sad that it doesn't look better.”

    read full review ↗
  • 67
    PC Format
    trust 63–

    “It's the presentation and numerous glitches that let it down. [June 2010, p.101]”

  • 80
    EurogamerEurogamer
    trust 63–

    “Warband is an exciting experience, that will really make you believe to be "inside" this game. At the beginning it can be disorienting, but its force is in its possibilities. Many hours of gameplay await you in this game, with an axe and an horse.”

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    GameSpotGameSpot
    trust 63–

    “Exciting multiplayer battles make Mount & Blade: Warband a strong addition to the open-world role-playing game.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    Metro GameCentralMetro GameCentral
    trust 62–

    “A hugely ambitious and imaginative, but still very roughly hewn, simulation of medieval combat.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    Computer Games Online RO
    trust 62–

    “Nevertheless, Mount & Blade: Warband is not a single-player title and the campaign is nothing more than a bonus for when your Internet connection isn't working. Otherwise, you will find yourself again connected to the official servers, slashing and hacking opponents from all-over the civilized worlds, cursing for being unhorsed or jumping with fear at the sound of an arrow.”

    read full review ↗
  • 83
    PC GamerPC Gamer
    trust 62–

    “Mount & Blade's new multiplayer is a brutal blast. It's a shame the solo side didn't get more attention, though. [June 2010, p.98]”

  • 80
    LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    trust 61–

    “Great improvements to the original game make the new Mount & Blade just the best in middle-ages fight simulation. Finally, we can ride the horse and crush opponents' heads online. [Issue#191]”

  • 81
    Absolute Games
    trust 61–

    “Warband is not just a great expansion pack that makes this medieval "sandbox" even more enticing. By adding multiplayer, the developers cemented the game's cult status.”

    read full review ↗
  • 81
    IGNIGN
    trust 61–

    “Combining hardcore roleplaying with deep combat, and throwing in a Counterstrike-esque multiplayer mode, this sort-of-budget game has more longevity than most full-priced, big-name-studio games. If you can get past the ugly façade, Mount and Blade: Warband is well worth a look.”

    read full review ↗

…and 11 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. Viking Conquest 2.072
    Jul 2, 2026
  2. Viking Conquest 2.069
    Sep 2, 2024
  3. Viking Conquest 2.068
    Mar 12, 2024
  4. Viking Conquest 2.064
    Apr 25, 2023
  5. Viking Conquest 2.063
    Mar 8, 2023
  6. Viking Conquest 2.060
    Nov 16, 2021
  7. Viking Conquest 2.059
    May 19, 2021
  8. Viking Conquest 2.054
    Oct 9, 2019
  9. Viking Conquest 2.050
    Apr 19, 2019
  10. Viking Conquest 2.049
    Mar 29, 2019
  11. Warband 1.174 / Viking Conquest 2.044 / Napoleonic Wars 1.21
    Oct 4, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  12. Napoleonic Wars 1.2
    Jan 17, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  13. Napoleonic Wars 1.2
    Jan 17, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  14. Mount & Blade: Warband 1.173
    Jan 17, 2018
  15. Mount & Blade: Warband 1.173
    Jan 17, 2018
  16. Viking Conquest 2.036
    Sep 12, 2017
  17. Viking Conquest 2.036
    Sep 12, 2017
  18. Viking Conquest 2.032
    Jul 4, 2017
  19. Viking Conquest 2.032
    Jul 4, 2017
  20. Mount & Blade: Warband 1.172
    Mar 14, 2017
  21. Mount & Blade: Warband 1.172
    Mar 14, 2017
  22. Invasion Patch! 21/12/16
    Dec 21, 2016
  23. Invasion Patch! 21/12/16
    Dec 21, 2016
  24. [FREE UPDATE] New "INVASION" Multiplayer Mode for Warband!
    Dec 20, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  25. [FREE UPDATE] New "INVASION" Multiplayer Mode for Warband!
    Dec 20, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  26. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.028
    Dec 20, 2016
  27. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.028
    Dec 20, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  28. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.025 Patch Released
    Sep 5, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  29. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.025 Patch Released
    Sep 5, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  30. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition source and 2.023 patch
    Apr 4, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  31. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition source and 2.023 patch
    Apr 4, 2016
  32. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.021 Patch Released
    Dec 22, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  33. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.021 Patch Released
    Dec 22, 2015
  34. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition Chinese Support
    Oct 28, 2015
  35. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.012 Patch Released
    Sep 17, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  36. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition 2.012 Patch Released
    Sep 17, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  37. Minor Update
    Sep 7, 2015
  38. Minor Update
    Sep 7, 2015
  39. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition version 2.005 released
    Aug 26, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  40. Viking Conquest Reforged Edition version 2.005 released
    Aug 26, 2015significant · resets scoring window

…and 7 earlier patch announcements.