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Pause publication and keep the original recording private and unchanged. Check the review-access agreement, NDA, embargo notice and any game-specific video instructions, then ask the publisher or designated press contact in writing whether this marked clip may be published, whether the mark must stay visible, and whether an edit or replacement recording is authorized. A crop, blur, overlay or new export changes the image; it does not establish permission to publish. The right answer depends on the terms for your access and this specific footage—not on a universal rule about every watermark.
What should I do first?
Stop the scheduled upload or handoff while you establish what the mark is and what your access terms allow. Do not send a public preview or a frame that exposes the identifier while asking for clarification. Keep the raw recording intact in a restricted location and work from a separate copy if you need to inspect a proposed edit.
- Pause distribution. Disable or postpone scheduled publication where possible, and ask collaborators not to forward the clip or screenshots.
- Inspect privately. Check the recording and intended export to see where the mark appears and whether it is visible throughout, only at particular points, or only in a particular capture. This identifies the practical issue; it does not tell you whether the mark may be removed.
- Gather the governing documents. Locate the email granting review access, any NDA, the embargo notice and title-specific video or streaming instructions. Use the terms that applied to your access, rather than assuming a public policy for ordinary fan videos covers a reviewer’s recording.
- Write to the designated contact. Describe the game, build and affected clip without unnecessarily distributing the identifying footage. Ask for a clear decision about publication, mark handling, editing, replacement footage, format and timing.
- Proceed only on a route the terms or contact authorize. That may mean publishing with the mark, using approved replacement footage, making a newly authorized capture, or holding the video.
Keep a decision trail: retain the original, the applicable terms, the written answer and the final approved version. This is prudent recordkeeping, not a publisher procedure that applies universally.
Which rules apply to a marked review clip?
Start with the conditions under which you received access. A visible identifier is a clue that the recording may be associated with a particular access path, but the pixels alone do not establish what you agreed to, what the publisher permits, or whether the mark is a required credit or legal line.
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Review terms and embargo notices
Read the actual access-granting email and agreement, not just a general policy page. Look for the embargo date and exact time, the applicable time zone, the materials covered, permitted formats, scene or build restrictions, and any separate limits on video or streaming. Those details may differ from the rules for text coverage or other media. If the terms conflict or leave the watermark question unanswered, ask the designated press contact to clarify before publishing.
Embargoes are access conditions, not a general green light for every kind of disclosure once a date arrives. Can I Play That? describes its own editorial practice this way: “We will not break these agreements, even if certain information has become public knowledge.” That is the outlet’s policy, not a rule that binds every creator; it illustrates why the specific agreement matters. Can I Play That? editorial standards
Public video policies may cover a different situation
A publisher’s public guidance for user videos may not grant rights that are limited by a separate NDA or review-access agreement. Ubisoft’s support guidance, for example, says participants in an NDA may not post content, while its general video guidance warns that pre-release uploads without explicit permission may be blocked. Treat those as examples of policy scope—not as terms for a different publisher’s game or your particular review access.
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Square Enix’s West Material Usage Policy says: “If Square Enix’s original materials include any credits or legal lines, you must not remove them.” That is an instruction about credits and legal lines in the policy’s scope; it does not prove that every identifying review watermark is one of those items. Ask about the actual mark rather than labeling it yourself. Square Enix West Material Usage Policy
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What exactly should I ask the publisher?
Make the question narrow enough to produce an actionable answer. Identify the title and build, explain that the recording contains an access identifier, and state the planned format and release timing. Avoid attaching the full marked clip unless the contact asks for it and the agreement allows that sharing.
You can adapt this message:
“Our recording of [game and build] contains an identifying mark. May we publish this specific footage, and should the mark remain visible? Is cropping or obscuring it permitted? If not, can you provide approved clean footage or authorize a new capture? Does approval cover this video format, any planned stream, and our intended publication date and time?”
Replace the bracketed description with the actual game and build; do not include sensitive details in an unapproved public post. If you have multiple clips, name the affected material clearly. Ask separately about a stream or other format rather than assuming permission for one medium extends to another.
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Can I blur, crop or cover the watermark?
Not unless the applicable terms or an authorized contact permit that edit. Cropping, blurring, placing an overlay over the identifier, or exporting a modified file does not itself supply publication permission—and it may remove something the publisher expects to remain.
The available policies do not establish one industry-wide rule for identifying review marks. Square Enix’s restriction on removing included credits or legal lines is relevant if the mark is one of those items, but it is not enough to classify an unidentified watermark. Ask whether the specific mark must remain, whether the proposed edit is permitted, and whether approval covers the resulting video. Do not infer an answer from how easy the edit is or from whether the mark appears in every frame.
What are the permitted ways to handle the footage?
Choose a route only after checking both the visual result and the permission for that source. A cleaner-looking file is not necessarily an authorized file.
- Publish the marked recording: use this option only if publication is allowed and the contact or terms make clear how the mark must be treated. Confirm timing and format as well.
- Use publisher-provided footage: ask whether clean replacement assets exist and whether they are cleared for your intended publication, date and format. Do not assume that an asset is available or that receiving it grants unrestricted use.
- Make a new capture: do this only if the new source and recording method are authorized. Confirm that the new capture is not subject to the same identifier or other restrictions.
- Hold the video: if permission remains unclear, do not publish the clip. You may publish other material only if it is independently cleared under the applicable agreement; do not treat a text embargo or a separate asset’s approval as clearance for this recording.
These routes solve different problems. A replacement can resolve the visible mark only if its provenance and intended use are authorized. A new recording can also carry the mark if the game or review build displays it in the supplied image.
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Can a capture card provide clean footage?
It can be a recording method for an authorized new console capture, but it is not a way to bypass a mark already present in the game or review build. OBS documents console recording through a game-capture device or through a remote-play window capture. The method captures the supplied video signal or window; it does not change what the source displays. OBS game-capture FAQ
If a new capture is approved, check that the console, computer, capture device and intended recording setup are compatible. Elgato documents its Game Capture 4K Pro as accepting unencrypted HDMI input and lists supported sources; those device details do not establish that it suits every console or computer. Do not buy hardware or start recording on the assumption that a capture card will remove an identifier. First confirm that the new capture itself is permitted and that its source will be suitable.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What if the footage is already scheduled or has been shared?
Stop further distribution where you can, tell the responsible editor what happened, and contact the press representative with a factual account of what was shared and when. Preserve the original and the relevant messages; do not silently replace the file and assume that the issue is resolved.
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Changing a video’s visibility, swapping in a different export, or waiting until launch does not establish retroactive permission or undo an earlier disclosure. Follow the instructions from the authorized contact and the terms that apply. If the clip was sent only to a collaborator, explain that too; the appropriate next step depends on where it went and what the agreement says.
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How do publisher policies differ?
Public examples show why a creator should not collapse all publisher rules into one universal standard. Ubisoft’s guidance discusses NDA participation and explicit permission for pre-release uploads. Square Enix addresses pre-embargo materials and retaining included credits or legal lines. Rockstar’s public video policy expressly limits its scope to occasional, non-commercial fan use. These examples have different scopes; none decides the terms for an unidentified game, review agreement or watermark.
Rockstar’s customer-support policy was last updated in 2025, but its stated scope should not be mistaken for a general permission covering commercial coverage or review-access footage. For any title, the relevant question is whether the rules applicable to your access and the actual clip permit the planned use. The examples above were checked on October 30, 2026; publisher terms can change, so consult the current title-specific instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an identifying watermark mean the footage is copyrighted?
The mark alone does not settle what rights or restrictions apply to the recording. Check the agreement and the publisher’s instructions; the watermark’s appearance cannot substitute for those terms.
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If the game launches, can I post the marked footage then?
Not automatically. The embargo may be only one condition, and the terms may address video, streaming, particular builds or assets separately; verify that the approval covers the intended post-launch use.
What if the publisher does not answer before my planned upload?
Do not treat no response as approval. Hold the clip or use only other material you can independently confirm is cleared under your access terms.
Can I send a screenshot of the watermark to ask what it means?
First check whether the agreement permits sharing the footage or screenshots, even privately. You can initially describe the identifier and clip in writing without circulating an image.
