Ethics & Guidelines

The following lays out how we work diligently to ensure we avoid corruption and influence in our coverage process.  We reserve the right to modify or add to this document in the future, and in the interests of transparency we will record a changelog in the footer. If you have any questions about this statement, how it’s applied, and any disclosures we make throughout this site, you can contact us at [email protected]

Who is GamingTrend?

GamingTrend is a traditional press (read: not an “influencer”) site covering videogames, tabletop, technology, 3D printing, movies, comics, and culture tangential to this geeky collection of hobbies.  We are all hobbyists with a wide range of expertise in a number of fields.  We’re also gamers just like you, and notably, human, a distinction that is mind boggling to have to call out, but here we are.    

We strive to bring to life our opinion on the products we review or preview, ensuring we honestly and openly discuss the positives and negatives of said product, while still maintaining a positive and respectful dialogue.  With over two decades in the industry, there’s nothing we haven’t seen at least twice, but we’re always very eager to learn!  

What is our mission? 

Our mission is simple – provide honest and informative coverage of the products and services we showcase using the best tools and techniques available to inform our readership enough to make a conscious and informed decision.  

Compensation for access 

We believe there is value inherent in honesty, and as such we do not accept payment for reviews nor do we pay for information, exclusivity, or any other access. Period. 

Receiving products for review 

As is the industry standard, we accept product and software access for review, preview, and critique. These are disclosed at the bottom of every article where a product was received with the purpose of evaluation of any kind, per FTC guideline 12 CFR § 343.40.  Receipt of these products will not, under any circumstances, elicit a positive or negative influence on the review, and we have checks and balances to ensure corruption does not occur.  In addition, receipt of a product, service, or software does not guarantee a review, especially when unsolicited.  

Trust

Trust is something we weigh heavily here at GamingTrend; trust in us by our readers first and foremost, but also trust between us and the companies and individuals we cover. Transparency and honesty are integral to our approach, which is why you won’t find misleading clickbait headlines or advertisements disguised as content at GamingTrend. 

Conflicts of interest

While gaming appeals more and more to the mass market everyday, the fact remains that in some sectors, it is still a very small group of people on the industry side. During our history as a volunteer organization, our writers have often taken paid work in other parts of the industry, and occasionally that overlaps with work done here on GamingTrend. We are constantly on the lookout for any conflicts of interest between members of our team and those that we cover, and when found, we either decline coverage or shift the work to another team member who is not encumbered by such a conflict. While bias can't be completely eradicated, we are fortunate to have a team large enough to minimize it as much as possible in cases like these.

Truth and accuracy

While our articles and videos constitute our opinion, we believe that they are well-researched and guided by years of experience.  We strive to get it right and do the work to learn and grow, but reviews represent a snapshot in time.  Each review represents the experience of the user, and each user brings their own experience and expectations to the table.  That said, we work diligently with a series of checks and balances to ensure that we are using the product sufficiently to draw said conclusions, that we are not applying undue bias, and that the score is based on quantifiable data more than just “feeling”.  “Is it fun” is a factor, but it shouldn’t be the whole thing.  

We often operate on pre-release code or prototype versions of tabletop games.  While some of these things can affect gameplay or experience, we have to evaluate whether it will impact the user or not.  An issue that might be broken ahead of a “day 1 patch” may never be seen by the average user, so we might choose to ignore said issue for our evaluation, or call it out as something we expect to be patched. We might be using placeholder cards or a token that is being swapped out for retail, but in each case we have to evaluate whether or not this is a transient issue or one that causes harm to the experience that users will ultimately experience for themselves.  

As the article is based on a snapshot in time, the views expressed may evolve over time.  A good example might be the launch state of No Man’s Sky versus the fantastic game it is now.  We do not typically go back and re-review a game or product unless there is a call to action from our readers.  It is time consuming and detracts from time spent on more recent games.  That said, if we do happen to re-evaluate a game, the score may be altered with new information, but any new data will be added to the existing review instead of replacing it with appropriate annotations.  Additionally, while we might change our score, Metacritic and other score aggregation sites will not adjust that score on their site.  We have no control over this process, so we thank you in advance for your understanding.  

News transparency

We bring you news on industry happenings.  These are based on the information available at the time of publication.  As such, this information may differ (sometimes wildly) from what shows up when an item ships.  We promise that we will always try to report honestly and with integrity, to the best of our ability.  If we find inaccuracies, we will issue updates or in severe cases, full retractions.  We are all human and accidents happen – assume positive intent.  

Native advertising

At Gaming Trend we do not allow guest posts or paid posts, colloquially known as “native advertising”.  Nor do we do any paid link insertion or backlinks. We strongly believe that it runs counter to what we stand for and do not offer it in any form as it degrades the trust and reputation we have built with our readership. For more on how we approach advertising please see our Advertise with us page

Generative AI

While we will often be called upon to report on other's use of generative AI in the gaming industries, we do not allow our editors to use generative AI tools to write their content for the site by prompt. If a piece is discovered to be written by a generative AI tool, it will be removed from the site.