The lead developer of the independent military shooter Operation: Harsh Doorstop, Connor Drake, has voiced his concerns about streamers and YouTubers accepting undisclosed payments for positive reviews of video games. He specifically criticizes content creators who receive significant payments to promote one game but then disparage others they haven’t been compensated to review.

Drake, known online as BlueDrake42, posted a warning on X about these practices. He stated:

“I’m tired of watching you all get paid off to do hit pieces on games that don’t fork cash over for you.”

The controversy arose from his recent notice about an upcoming update for his game. Drake expressed his displeasure towards creators who fail to disclose payments received from competing studios in their reviews, arguing it compromises their independence as journalists.

In a follow-up exchange, he clarified that he has no issue with negative reviews, as long as they are transparent about their financial relationships with other studios:

“If you do a review, just say something like ‘and for full transparency, I am a paid contractor for X game, so that might bias my review.’”

Drake emphasized that adhering to these disclosure standards is not only ethical but necessary for maintaining trust in game reviews. His game Operation: Harsh Doorstop was launched in early access on Steam in 2023, where it received a ‘Mostly Positive’ rating from over 17,000 reviews.