Something I don’t see a lot of video game journalists talk about very much is on the topic of studio swag. YouTubers are different in this, because they’ll get an easy video showing off stuff, but generally journos keep it quiet.

Because it’s weird. It really is. And I think that a lot of us worry that even mentioning that a studio gave us free stuff casts instant suspicion on the veracity of any coverage or opinion.

I get stuff from time to time from various studios. No, I don’t know how I got on their mailing lists. I assume that some go-getter PR person does research on everyone who has, at some point, covered their game professionally and then put them on a mailing list for goodies. It’s a blatant attempt to garner favor — or at least recognition — of that game.

There never seems to be a…