Editorial policy

CritFrame covers PC, console and mobile games and the games industry for a global audience, in English and Korean. This policy explains how we decide what to publish, how we source it, and what we do when we get something wrong.

Who decides

Every article is approved by the CritFrame Editorial Desk against this policy before publication — see our AI disclosure for how articles are made. Every approval is recorded. The site’s operator, CritFrame Media, is legally responsible for the publication but does not direct coverage.

Breaking-news exception

By default nothing is published without editorial desk approval. The only exception: an announcement story based on a single official primary source — for example a release date, trailer or patch notes published by the company itself — may be published once it passes all of our automated checks. The editorial desk reviews it within 2 hours of publication; any problem is fixed and disclosed under our corrections policy. No more than 5 stories a day may use this exception. Rumors, datamines, leaks, conflict-of-interest stories, sensitive topics, roundups, opinion and translations are never eligible.

Sourcing

We prefer primary sources: publishers, developers, platform holders, official filings and official channels. Every article links at least one source in its Sources box.
When a story rests on another outlet’s reporting, we say so (“according to …”), link it, and add our own context rather than repackaging their work.
Dates, prices, platforms and regional details are checked against official sources. Anything we can’t confirm is left out or marked unconfirmed.

Rumors

We publish a rumor only when it comes from one named, credible insider with a track record on the subject, or from two or more independent major outlets. We never publish a rumor based on a single anonymous social media post, forum thread or unverified screenshot.

Rumor stories are labelled Rumor, carry a confidence rating (low, medium or high) with a note explaining it, say clearly what is not confirmed, and include the company’s response or note that we asked. They always need prior editorial desk approval and can never use the breaking-news exception. When a rumor is confirmed or denied, we update the story.

Datamining and leaks

We report datamined information only when it comes from publicly released builds or patches, and we apply the same rules as for rumors: label, confidence note, prior approval, spoiler warning where needed.
We do not use leaked builds or hacked material, and we do not host, embed or link to leaked materials (images, video, builds, source code or documents).
For hacks and data breaches we report the incident, its impact and official responses — never the stolen contents, and never anyone’s personal data.

Writing, attribution and plagiarism

Articles are written in our own words. We never copy another publication’s text. Direct quotes are short, in quotation marks, and attributed with a link; press-release quotes are limited to one or two sentences.
Automated plagiarism gate: before publication, every article is compared with each of its sources. Publication is blocked if, outside quotation marks, 12 or more consecutive words match a source, or if more than 20% of the article overlaps with a source.
We do not bypass paywalls or republish subscriber-only content.
Headlines state the news. No clickbait.
Opinion and analysis are labelled Opinion and kept separate from news.

Images and video

We prefer official press images used within their terms, with credit. Where none is available we use abstract placeholder graphics. We never use AI-generated images that depict real games, real people or real products. We do not use other outlets’ images or thumbnails, or images of unknown origin. Video is embedded from official channels only, and only loads when you click it. Rights holders can contact us at [email protected]; we respond within 48 hours.

Use of AI

CritFrame’s articles are drafted by AI systems from official sources, and every article carries a line saying it was written with AI tools. Articles are not reviewed by a person before publication unless they are marked “Reviewed by an editor”. Details are on our AI disclosure page.

Review Roundups instead of reviews

We do not play games for review, so we do not publish our own reviews or scores. Our Review Roundup section summarises, in our own words, what established outlets have published about a game, with a link to every review and each outlet’s own score where it gives one. We do not combine outlets’ scores into a CritFrame score.

Conflicts of interest

CritFrame’s owner is affiliated with the company that operates Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War (POTC) and World War: Machines Conquest (WWMC). Any article about these games or their competitors carries a visible conflict-of-interest disclosure, always requires prior editorial desk approval, and can never use the breaking-news exception.
Coverage is never sold. Advertising is labelled and kept separate (see Sponsored content and advertising).
We do not accept gifts or payment from companies we cover, and we honour embargoes we agree to.

Topics we don’t cover

The private lives of developers, streamers or other individuals.
Anything that amplifies harassment campaigns.
Promotion of gambling, skin betting, cash-out schemes or cryptocurrency.
Adult content.

Sensitive topics

Layoffs, harassment or abuse allegations, legal cases, deaths, self-harm and minors get extra care:

Allegations require multiple credible sources or official records, and we give the people or companies involved a fair chance to respond.
We do not name private individuals who are not central to the story, or minors.
We do not speculate about causes of death or about anyone’s mental health. Where relevant we link to support services.
These stories always require prior editorial desk approval. Korean-language coverage also takes into account Korean defamation law, under which publishing even true statements can be actionable.

Corrections

We correct errors promptly — normally within 24 hours of confirming them — and openly. A correction note with the date and what changed is added to the article. Significant errors are also logged on our corrections page: a wrong date, price, platform, name, quote, source attribution, score or core claim. Typos and style fixes are made without a note. New information is added with an “Update:” note. We remove articles only in exceptional cases, such as legal requirements, and record why.

To report an error, email [email protected] (subject: “Correction”) or use our contact page.