GameThrum uses the closest reliable source for each claim and tells readers when evidence is limited.
Source hierarchy
- Direct evidence: our dated test record, captures, measurements, and reproducible observations.
- Primary sources: the game itself, developer/publisher site, official storefront page, patch notes, manuals, support pages, platform documentation, ratings boards, and direct on-record statements.
- Reliable secondary sources: reporting that shows its sourcing and distinguishes reporting from opinion.
- Community sources: forum posts, social posts, videos, user reviews, and chat discussions. These are valuable leads and examples, not proof of prevalence or a substitute for testing.
Search snippets, summaries, AI output, and unsourced databases are discovery aids only.
Claim-to-source matching
The source must support the exact scope of the sentence. A Steam listing does not prove console availability. A roadmap does not prove a feature shipped. A developer’s performance target does not prove measured performance. One user’s bug report does not prove every copy has the bug.
We attribute forward-looking and self-reported claims: “the developer says,” “the roadmap lists,” or equivalent. Volatile facts—price, release timing, supported platforms, live-service state, and system requirements—carry an as-of date and must be rechecked before publication.
Linking and quotations
We link to the exact source page where practical, not a search result or generic homepage. Quotations must be exact, brief, contextual, and traceable. Translations and paraphrases are labeled when meaning could depend on wording.
Conflicting sources
When authoritative sources disagree, we do not silently choose one. We state the conflict, identify differences in date, platform, region, version, or scope where known, and avoid false precision. If the answer can be resolved only in the current build, we test it or mark it unresolved.
Community research
Community discussions help identify questions players want answered. We do not scrape private spaces, evade access controls, quote a private message without permission, or claim “players say” based on a few posts. Public quotations require a canonical URL and context; otherwise we paraphrase the topic without identifying the user.
Source ledger
Each draft keeps a source URL, source type, access date, supported claims, volatility flag, and reviewer. Broken or materially changed sources trigger review.