Editorial Policy

What we publish

The Checkpoint Codex, published by KCS Global Group, covers video game news, editions and upgrades, guides, and upcoming releases for players in the United States. Our goal is simple: give you accurate, clearly sourced answers to the questions you have before you buy, pre-order or upgrade a game.

Learn more about us on our About Us page.

Our research-only approach

Instead, our value is careful research and analysis. We gather what publishers, platforms and rating boards have officially said, check it, and explain what it means for you in plain language. Every article links to its sources so you can check our work.

Sources we use

We rank sources by reliability and always prefer the most direct one available.

• Official sources, our first choice

  Publisher and developer announcements, official websites and trailers, platform blogs, store listings, patch notes, age ratings and company investor reports.

  PlayStation Blog Xbox Wire Nintendo (US) Rockstar Newswire Steam Store ESRB

• Established news outlets

  Reputable gaming and technology publications with a record of accurate reporting. We use them for context or for news not yet confirmed officially, and we credit and link to them.

• Never used as a source of fact

  Anonymous social media posts, forums, datamines, leaks and AI chatbot answers. If readers are widely discussing one of these, we may mention it, but only with a clear Unconfirmed label.

Confirmed, reported, unconfirmed

Whenever an article includes information that is not officially confirmed, we tell you how reliable it is using these labels:

Confirmed

Announced by the publisher, developer, platform or rating board. Most of our content is in this category.

Reported

Published by an established news outlet but not yet confirmed officially. We name and link the outlet.

Unconfirmed

A rumor or leak that could be wrong. We cover these rarely and never present them as fact.

When a reported or unconfirmed detail is later confirmed or denied, we update the article.

How an article is made

Every article passes through the same five checkpoints before and after it goes live.

1. 1

   Collect

   We gather the official announcement, store listing, patch notes or rating that the article is based on, and note the date of each source.

2. 2

   Cross-check

   Each key fact, such as a price, date, edition or platform, is checked against a second reliable source. Anything we can’t confirm is labeled or left out.

3. 3

   Analyze

   We explain what the facts mean for US players: what you get, what it costs in USD, when it arrives, and whether there is any reason to rush.

4. 4

   Review

   A second team member checks every fact against its source, tests every link, and edits for clarity before the article is published.

5. 5

   Update

   We keep track of the games we cover. When a publisher changes a date, price or detail, we update the article and note the change.

Use of AI tools

Our team uses AI tools to help organize research, plan article structure and prepare drafts. AI helps us work efficiently, but it does not decide what is true.

• AI output is never treated as a source. Every fact must come from a source listed above.
• Every AI-assisted draft is checked against its sources and reviewed by our team before publishing.
• Our team is responsible for everything we publish, however it was drafted.

Writing for US readers

We write for players in the United States. Unless an article says otherwise, prices are in US dollars from US store listings, release times are given in US time zones, and age ratings are from the ESRB. We use US English spelling.

Headlines and images

Our headlines describe what the article actually says. We don’t use clickbait, exaggerate rumors or promise answers the article doesn’t give.

Game images come from official press materials, publisher websites or store listings, and we credit the source. We never present official images as our own gameplay captures. More details are in our Disclaimer.

Independence

• We do not accept payment, gifts or favors in exchange for coverage.
• We do not publish sponsored articles or paid guest posts.
• We are not affiliated with any game publisher, developer, platform or retailer.
• The site is funded by advertising, including Google AdSense. Advertisers have no say in what we cover or what we conclude.
• We do not currently use affiliate links. If that changes, we will label those links clearly and update our Disclaimer.

Who writes our articles

Our articles are researched, written and reviewed by the KCS Global Group team of seven, working full-time from our office in Risali, Chhattisgarh, India. Every article is a team effort, so we publish under The Checkpoint Codex name rather than individual bylines. The team as a whole is accountable for every article.

Updates and corrections

Game details change often, so we review our articles regularly. When we update an article with new information, we show the updated date. When we correct a factual error, we say what was changed.

Contact us

Questions about our editorial standards can be sent to contact@thecheckpointcodex.com. Publishers, press and partners can reach us at info@thecheckpointcodex.com.

See all contact options on our Contact Us page. How we handle your data is explained in our Privacy Policy, and the rules for using the site are in our Terms of Use.