We get variations of the same question from developers several times a month: what exactly happens when you order a review from Questilog? What do you get, what don't you get, and where is the line between what's paid for and what we retain editorial control over?
This post answers those questions directly. It's aimed at developers and publishers considering a custom review order, and it's also a reference for readers who want to understand how sponsored content works on this site.
What you're ordering
A custom review order means you're paying for the commitment of editorial time — not for a particular outcome. When you submit an order, you're booking a team member to play your game and write an honest assessment. That's the service.
You're not buying a positive review. You're not buying editorial approval. You're not buying the right to see or change the piece before it goes live. None of those things are available, and we won't agree to them even if asked.
Step by step: from order to publication
The process after you submit an order form is fairly linear. We receive your submission and check current capacity — we're a team of three, so availability varies by month. We respond within two business days with either a confirmation that we can take the order, a timeline estimate, and a pricing confirmation, or a decline if we're currently unable to take on new orders.
If you proceed, we arrange payment and you provide a review key or equivalent access method. Editorial work begins when the assigned team member starts playing. We don't give an exact publication date because we don't know in advance how long a fair assessment will take — a game we can complete in eight hours is different from one that takes thirty.
Once the review is written and internally reviewed, it's published. You receive a link. That's where our obligation to you ends. We don't send the piece for approval first. We don't circulate drafts.
The labelling
Custom review orders are published with a disclosure notice at the top of the page. This notice states that the review was produced under a commercial arrangement. It's visible before the editorial content begins, and it stays there permanently.
This is non-negotiable. We won't remove or obscure disclosure labels regardless of what the review says or what the commercial relationship is. This is partly because it's legally required under advertising standards, and partly because hiding it would be dishonest to our readers.
Why positive coverage isn't guaranteed
This is the part that some developers find surprising. The short answer is: if we agreed in advance to write positive reviews for payment, we wouldn't be a review site. We'd be a marketing service with editorial branding.
We think there's a distinction worth maintaining. A commissioned review that says what the developer wants to hear isn't meaningfully different from a press release. Readers know the difference over time, and once a site loses credibility on this point, the coverage isn't worth much to anyone.
If your game is genuinely good, a commissioned review from Questilog will say so. If your game has significant issues, those will appear in the review. We try to be specific about what works and what doesn't, and we try to be fair about context — a small studio's first release is assessed differently than a large studio's tenth.
What about corrections?
We correct factual errors. Wrong platform information, incorrect studio credits, inaccurate technical specifications — these are things we'll fix on request. The correction is noted transparently in the article.
We don't change editorial conclusions after publication. If a review says the combat system is frustrating and you disagree, that's a difference of opinion, not a factual error. We'll note your disagreement if you want to respond publicly, but the original text stays as written.
Is this the right service for you?
Honestly, probably not if what you primarily want is positive coverage. There are services that offer that. They're not editorial platforms, but they exist.
It might be the right fit if you want an honest review from a team that actually plays games, if you have a game you're confident in and want it covered by an independent outlet, or if you value the credibility that comes with coverage that isn't guaranteed positive.
If you have more specific questions, the FAQ page covers most of the common ones. If something isn't covered there, email us.