Going Rogue
In May of 2025, we all lost our home and our outlet to talk about our passions when Vox Media sold Polygon and laid off the majority of its staff. We came back together after the layoffs with a little help from our friends at Rascal, determined to make something new. A new place where we can continue to share our love of video games and the ever-expanding culture surrounding them. But we knew we wanted it to be different this time.
Rogue is worker-owned and independent. The news is constantly filled with large corporations and CEOs making the “difficult decision” to lay off huge numbers of dedicated employees while posting record profits and paying those same CEOs huge salaries. The product and the art are no longer the point. Profit is.
This is true of the video game and entertainment industries, as well as journalism in general. This is also our truth, specifically, the Rogues that were unceremoniously fired when our site was sold for a short-term profit.
Rogue is not a media conglomerate. Rogue doesn’t answer to anyone because Rogue is us. Rogue is you, our audience.
Rogue is subscription-based and ad-free. The pursuit of profit and infinite growth demands writing for the almighty algorithm. You need to appease the search engines in order to get views on your site, you need views to get ad revenue, and you need ad revenue to run a site. The site that gets you views.
It’s a closed loop of profit that ignores the content — the art, its discussion, and the people behind both. It’s dehumanizing both for the writer and the reader. And everything that obsession produces is formulaic and shallow. It’s the reason so many people complain about clickbait, and why you see so many great sites produce clicky headlines that obfuscate what the article is really about. The business model is designed to get you to visit the website, not ensure that you are satisfied with what you find there.
All we’ve ever wanted to do is share our passion for all things nerdy with an audience that shares the same passions. Moreover, we don’t want those passions to be dictated by a search algorithm.
This is how we’re going rogue, and this is how you help us. We’re done writing for algorithms. We’re not going to run ads on our content, and we’re not going to obsess over traffic.
But we still need to pay our bills in this economy defined by late-stage capitalism. So we rely on you, our audience, to do that. Your subscription tells us that you love what we do, and lets us make more of it. And, more importantly, it gives us the liberty to remain independent.
Rogue is written by humans, for humans. LLMs are appealing to the owners of the media industry because they manufacture cheap, fast content that can be easily tailored to generate ad revenue. It doesn't matter if it’s an environmentally devastating technology built on stolen data by ethically bankrupt companies. It’s the Dead Internet theory in action. Bots making content for other bots, creating ad revenue without a human ever being involved.
Art is a conversation, and removing the humanity from any step of the process, from creation through consumption and discussion, renders the entire conversation hollow.
As a platform for passion, not profit, Rogue will always be written by humans, about human art and experiences, and with a human audience in mind.
Rogue is human-first. We’re all in this together. And that becomes even more essential when it feels like our very humanity is under attack, right down to the quintessentially human act of making art.
Artistic merit and passion are not determined by budget or scope. The scrappiest indie is just as valid as the biggest-budget AAA release. The smallest fandom has as much to say as a record-breaking blockbuster. Every human is valid, and every human passion is valid and worthy of discussion.
We want to be a helpful space for you to discover new games, movies, and other media. Similarly, we aim to humanize the creators that make the art we all love without humanizing the corporations that control them and carelessly cast them aside.
We want to feel safe in what we’ve built, and we want you to feel safe with us. At Rogue, all are welcome because everything is better when it’s enjoyed together. We are fearlessly inclusive, and that means we will never tolerate bigotry, hate, or exclusion. That stance leads us to other beliefs, like trans rights are human rights, no human is illegal, billionaires should not exist, and fascism is bad.
We’re just here to have fun, play games, and talk about the things we’re passionate about. We’re glad you’re here with us. Be good to each other, and let’s make something amazing together.
Ethics, standards, and disclosure
The Rogues and the freelancers we work with approach a story with their own lived experiences and biases. However, we endeavor to build Rogue into a place you can trust to be fair and truthful. As such, we strive to be as transparent as possible.
We've listed our ethics and standards practices below, as well as disclosures on how we plan to operate moving forward. But we'll start with a blanket statement that our opinions cannot be bought or influenced by publishers, developers, or PR firms. We will strive for the truth as we see it and share it with you. However, all writers are human, and we will endeavor to disclose any conflicts of interest that arise.
These policies were ratified on Sept. 2, 2025, and any updates to these standards will be noted here. Any questions regarding our ethics, standards, or other disclosures can be sent to contact@rogue.site.
Gifts
Rogue occasionally receives free game codes for reviews and impressions. In rare instances, we may even receive gaming hardware for free. Most of the time, these codes and machines will be used to create articles or guides. We will always disclose when we get a code from a publisher or developer. We will not disclose when we use Rogue’s expense account or personal funds to purchase a game.
Publishers will occasionally send packages in addition to codes. These packages are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and if we keep them, we'll make sure to disclose if they include anything exorbitantly expensive ($1,000+). This may have been more common “back in the day” of games journalism, but outside of hardware reviews, this doesn't happen very often. But on the off chance something like that shows up in our mailboxes, you’ll be the first to know.
Products sent to us don’t guarantee coverage or factor into our opinions, but we’ll always acknowledge where and how we obtain our review samples.
Samples may also be sent to us before a game or product is available to the general public if we agree to an embargo. This means we've agreed to withhold publication of our coverage before a time/date set by the company or PR firm.
Reviews
Rogue does not publish scores with its reviews, and it's not our policy to discuss opinions with publishers or developers prior to publication. However, in the event we discover an unusual number of bugs or performance issues, we may reach out to the company for comment.
The growing prevalence of early access and live service titles also means that Rogue will occasionally revisit published reviews and opinions to deliver additional context based on new content, patches, or other significant changes.
Trips
It’s a reality of the modern media landscape that self-funding trips to studios to preview upcoming games is extremely difficult until your brand is well-established. With a decently sized staff here at Rogue, affording these trips is unrealistic without additional help.
However, these trips can present a valuable opportunity to provide previews and other insights into community spaces. We will disclose whenever accommodations are provided to visit game studios or attend trade shows. Most frequently, this includes complimentary hotels, flights, transportation, and food. Travel accommodations will not impact the content of our previews.
Outside work
It’s tough out there for Rogues, but we believe in what we’re building here and that worker-owned media represents the most sustainable future for games journalism. With that said, Rogues are free to pursue paid opportunities outside of the work they do for Rogue.site. This includes our contributors and the owners as well.
This work isn’t restricted. It could be as simple as podcast appearances or freelance pieces written for other very cool websites, perhaps a bit of work outside of the games industry. Provided these projects are either public or represent no conflict of interest, we won't require a disclosure.
Rogues are also free to accept work that could present a conflict of interest, such as consulting work or writing for a specific title. In this instance, Rogues will have zero involvement with any coverage of that title, and their involvement will be disclosed to its fullest extent. Depending on the level of involvement, it may mean the entire site skips coverage of the game. But, like the rest of our disclosure policy, we'll err on the side of openness.
Sponsorships and advertising
As a completely subscriber-supported business, we don’t intend to ever rely on ad revenue. As long as we can afford to eat and pay our bills, it won’t happen.
Sponsorships or ads on podcasts are something we could potentially explore down the line. If these things ever do appear on Rogue or its content, we'll disclose any and all potential conflicts. We'll never accept sponsorships that would compromise our coverage.
Conflict of Interest
Rogues will not cover companies or products with whom they have a vested personal or financial interest. In the event a writer has an affiliation with an employer or subject that may otherwise conflict with objective reporting, this association will be disclosed in footnotes of the published article.
This does not include a writer’s individual contributions to Patreon or other fundraising campaigns associated with members of the video game industry. However, they will still need to disclose any details of those contributions on their profile page or related coverage.
Sources
It's the policy of Rogue.site to never pay sources for information published in our stories. We will always protect the anonymity of all our sources upon their request, and they must provide proof of their identity before being cited in a story.
Corrections
Rogues consider themselves professionals who thoroughly fact-check and research all of their work prior to publication. However, even professionals can drop the ball sometimes. In the event we do publish erroneous, inaccurate, or incorrect information, it’s our policy to correct the article with an appended disclosure detailing any changes.
Acknowledgements
Rogue.site has drawn the foundation of its mission, ethics, and other guidelines from independent publications like Rascal, Aftermath, and Defector.
Profit sharing mission for freelancers and collaborators
Rogue uses a point-based system, dividing up our income among our staff and accounts. Owners get the most points and are our full-time Rogues. Our regular contributors receive fewer points, which can be scaled based on their monthly contributions. We also assign points for savings, paying expenses, and maintaining a freelance budget. Once we know how many points are in the pool for a given month, we divide our monthly income by the number of points to determine their individual value. We then distribute the money to the various point holders until everyone is whole. While some workers get more points than others (based on full-time, part-time, etc.), the entire system is based around sharing our success with each other and those who work with us.
We guarantee a minimum fee for our work with freelancers, or a single share of our profits for a single month, whichever is greater.
We hope this agreement gives our freelancers a sense of investment and ownership in Rogue, with the knowledge that our success is their success, and vice versa.
Staff
The Rogues represent a handful of misfit journalists, writers, and all-around miscreants who believe in the importance of games journalism written for humans.
Alice Jovanée: Co-owner, Founder
Alice Jovanee (She/Her) - Alice believes in reporting that holds the games industry accountable and advocates for the people who make games. “Pick Up” is her favorite Scumm verb. Before Rogue, Alice worked at places like PC Mag, PC Gamer, Lifewire, The Verge, and Polygon, writing reviews, roundups, and news about the tech and gaming industries. If you’d like to reach Alice directly, you can find her at alice@rogue.site.
Cass Marshall: Co-owner, Founder
Cass Marshall (they/them) - Cass is an expert in exploring the weird corners of online games and massive RPGs. Whether it’s finding a giant horse and causing chaos, or making friends with a raider band in the apocalypse, Cass has a knack for finding unusual and interesting tales to tell. They previously wrote for Riot Games, Red Bull Esports, PC Gamer, and Polygon before joining up with Rogue. They are based in Toronto and can be found at cass@rogue.site.
Jeffrey Parkin: Co-owner, Founder
Jeffrey Parkin (he/him) has been writing about video games for the better part of a decade now, making this his longest career yet. After writing over 2,500 pieces at Polygon, he co-founded BigFriendly.Guide with Ryan and, now, that has evolved into rogue.site. He focuses mainly on writing guides, but will occasionally drop an angry-old-man leftist rant in the Opinions section. He lives in the swamps of North Carolina with his partner (where they just this month got high-speed internet!) and a small herd of animals. Jeffrey can be reached at Jeffrey@rogue.site.
Ryan Gilliam: Co-owner, Founder
Ryan Gilliam (he/him) - Ryan has spent an unacceptable amount of time diving into what makes "live service" games tick, but he hasn't neglected the great single player offerings out there either. Ryan will play pretty much anything, and is always on the hunt for new genres or game types that might appeal to him and his audience. He spent his entire career at Polygon, and wore many hats there. He's most proud of his guides work and spearheading "Wariogon." He is based in Kansas City and can be found at ryan@rogue.site.
Clayton Ashley: Founding Collaborator
Clayton Ashley (he/him) is video editor and podcaster with a passion for exploring the intersections of history, culture, and labor. Science fiction is his preferred prism for thinking big thoughts. He co-hosts and edits Temporal Culture War and Pat’s Labor. Before Rogue, Clayton has worked at Polygon, Vocativ, Purch, and Talking Points Memo. Reach out to Clayton at clayton@rogue.site with any good recs, especially if they feature a sick spaceship or robot.
Patrick Gill: Founding Collaborator
Toussaint Egan: Founding Collaborator
Credits and Thanks
Kyle Craig, website design
Jeffrey Parkin, logo design
Rowan Zeoli, financial guidance
Chase Taylor-Carter, editorial guidance
Clayton Ashley, worker cooperative guidance