Metacritic Removes AI-Generated Game Review, Severs Ties with VideoGamer
Key Takeaways
- ▸Metacritic removed an AI-generated review of Resident Evil Requiem from VideoGamer and announced it will sever ties with the publication
- ▸VideoGamer was acquired by Clickout Media in 2025 and transitioned to AI-generated content following recent layoffs
- ▸Multiple VideoGamer reviews from 2026 have been removed from Metacritic's aggregation due to AI concerns
Summary
Review aggregator Metacritic removed an AI-generated review of Resident Evil Requiem from British gaming site VideoGamer after users identified clear signs of artificial intelligence in both the content and author byline. The review, credited to "Brian Merrygold" and scored 9/10, was briefly indexed alongside over 100 human-written reviews before its removal. Metacritic issued a statement reaffirming its policy against AI-generated reviews and announced it would sever ties with VideoGamer following an investigation.
VideoGamer, founded in 2004 as a legitimate gaming outlet, was acquired in 2025 by Clickout Media, a company known for purchasing gaming sites and converting them to advertorial content for online gambling and casinos. Following layoffs last week, reports indicated VideoGamer and other Clickout-owned sites would transition to AI-generated content, including reviews. Metacritic cofounder Marc Doyle confirmed that "a handful of other VideoGamer reviews from 2026" have also been removed over AI concerns.
The incident highlights growing challenges in content verification as publishers increasingly turn to AI generation. Metacritic's automated scraping system initially failed to detect the AI-generated content from a previously trusted source, raising questions about how review aggregators will adapt their processes to identify synthetic content at scale.
- The incident exposes vulnerabilities in automated content aggregation systems that rely on previously trusted sources
