The short version.

The Raytrace is a video game news and discovery site made by one editor, Nicholas De Leon, with code and AI models. Its news stories are written by AI from the sources listed with each one; how we use AI explains which models do what. We strive for accuracy, but we and our AI models can make mistakes, so the site is provided as is. To report an error, email corrections@theraytrace.com.

Other outlets' headlines appear exactly as they wrote them, credited and linked; their articles belong to them. Images are the companies' own or store art, credited, and belong to their owners. Game names and trademarks belong to their owners. If you own something here and want it changed or removed, email editor@theraytrace.com.

The Raytrace uses the YouTube API Services to find new videos from official channels and outlets. Video titles and links that come from YouTube are marked "on YouTube". By using The Raytrace, you agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service. Google's privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy.

We don't use YouTube to collect anything about you: no YouTube sign-in, no YouTube player on our pages, and video titles we store are deleted or refreshed within 30 days, as YouTube's developer policies require.

Your display choice (Auto, Scope or Paper) is saved in your browser so the site looks the same next time. It never leaves your device. We set no advertising or tracking cookies.

The site is served by Cloudflare, which keeps standard server logs. Its fonts are hosted here too, so reading it doesn't make your browser contact Google or any font service. We count visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which uses no cookies and doesn't identify you.

If you email us, we keep your message to answer it and, for corrections, to fix the story. We don't add you to any list or share your address.

If you subscribe to The Denoiser, your email address goes to Buttondown, which sends the newsletter for us. You'll get one email asking you to confirm, and nothing more until you do. We use your address only to send the newsletter, and we don't sell or share it. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. What Buttondown itself keeps is in Buttondown's privacy policy.

Tips and supporter payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your card number; we receive your email address, the name on your card and the amount, and use them only for the payment and its receipt. A supporter membership renews monthly until you cancel, which you can do any time from the Manage or cancel link at the bottom of our front page, using the email you paid with. A payment supports the site; it doesn't buy any product, access or say in what we cover. If you were charged by mistake, write to editor@theraytrace.com and we'll refund it. What Stripe itself keeps is in Stripe's privacy policy.

If these terms change, this page changes, with the date. Last updated October 26, 2026.