A new, independently owned review aggregate has entered the chat, providing an alternative to Metacritic and Open Critic: CriticDB.
MMORPG is one of the first outlets to be added to this new review aggregate, which seeks to democratize aggregation compared to the big names in the space. CriticDB, which was developed by TechRaptor's (and OpenCritic's) Rutledge Daugette and his team, aims to aggregate news and previews in a way where every listing, every outlet is on equal footing.
For a small site like ours, this is very attractive. Oftentimes, our reviews and previews can be drowned out thanks to the almighty god of Google SEO, losing out discoverability due to this nebulous algorithm that we have no real control over. Places like CriticDB, as it's being pitched, aim to drive discoverability to not just the big guys, but the smaller, independent outlets as well.
Daugette lays out the vision in a video on the CriticDB YouTube channel, diving into why they built this new aggregator in the first place, as well as how scoring, user reviews, monetization of the site, and more will work.
We're one of 75 outlets CriticDB is launching with, and more outlets are to come. We're still adding our reviews (we've got over 20 years of review history on MMORPG to contend with here), and we're looking forward to being a part of this aggregation site. If you're looking for an independent aggregate that takes into account the little guys as well as the big sites, you might just find a home on CriticDB.
We will still be on Metacritic and Open Critic - those aggregates aren't going away. But CriticDB is yet another tool we can use to help boost visibility and, in the end, grow the site to provide better coverage, better reviews, and more in the future.