In a article published on November 19th, Kotaku claims to be blacklisted by Bethesda since the end of 2013 and by Ubisoft since December 2014. It also brings back the SONY blacklist subject from 2007.
http://kotaku.com/a-price-of-games-journalism-1743526293
Kotaku says that Ubisoft and Bethesda Softworks both refuse to work with the site on any of its gaming coverage:
- The publishers don’t respond to the site’s requests for comment on news stories (somewhat common, even for unblacklisted sites);
- Fail to make developers and titles available to Kotaku for interviews or preview purposes (unusual for a site with Kotaku’s size and reach);
- Refuse to provide early review copies of big-name games in series like Assassin’s Creed and Fallout (practically unheard of for a site this big).
There was no official notification like SONY did in 2007 (https://web.archive.org/web/20070303064324/http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/sony-blackballs-kotaku-240860.php) , but after almost 2 years of silence, the claim seem to have basis,
The opinions are all over the place, of course. From those who criticize Bethesda/Ubisoft decisions, to those that point out that they are completely within their rights, saying publishers are under no obligation to work with any outlets for whatever reason.
Kotaku itself has been plagued with suspicion since gamergates and some have argued that Kotaku should just have kept its head down about the whole situation. Rather than grandstanding and bellyaching about being treated unfairly.
