Kotaku
(https://kotaku.jp) 📸 Data Snapshot: May 30, 2026Inspect the JSON-LD. Is there an Organization or Person schema, and does it carry sameAs links to real external profiles (LinkedIn, socials)? Missing schema or no identity declaration signals an anonymous entity.
While the site names journalists like Zack Zwiezen, the identity is weakened by the schema_json which attributes much of the site to a single person entity rather than a structured organization with diverse experts. There is a notable absence of Person schema for many of the listed authors in the structured data, leaving their professional credentials unverifiable. The technical implementation of the Download Hub lacks the sophisticated metadata expected from a ‘trusted software source,’ such as MD5 hashes or security scan results.
The site claims to offer the best free software downloads updated regularly, yet it lists GTA VI (Grand Theft Auto 6) as a ‘Paid’ download in May 2026, a claim that is factually impossible for a news site to fulfill. This bold performance claim exists purely to capture high-intent search traffic and lacks any legitimate substance or delivery mechanism. The marketing tone of being a ‘trusted source’ is undermined by these clear instances of traffic-baiting.
Identity & Authority is read from the structured data first: whether the site declares who it is in machine-readable schema, with verifiable identity links. Below is the schema captured per page, then the external proof links that support (or fail to support) that identity.
🔗 Identity & Technical Layer — schema JSON-LD: identity chains, entity gaps
Homepage schema
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": [
{
"@type": "Article",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#article",
"isPartOf": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/"
},
"author": {
"name": "Kotaku",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/person/70c4bdd475f28797469306bcb2a83ea9"
},
"headline": "Home",
"datePublished": "2025-07-03T12:38:21+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-05-30T21:47:04+00:00",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/"
},
"wordCount": 1,
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#organization"
},
"inLanguage": "en-US"
},
{
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/",
"name": "Kotaku - Gaming Reviews, News, Tips and More.",
"isPartOf": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#website"
},
"about": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#organization"
},
"datePublished": "2025-07-03T12:38:21+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-05-30T21:47:04+00:00",
"breadcrumb": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#breadcrumb"
},
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"potentialAction": [
{
"@type": "ReadAction",
"target": [
"https://kotaku.com/"
]
}
]
},
{
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#breadcrumb",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"name": "Home"
}
]
},
{
"@type": "WebSite",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#website",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/",
"name": "Kotaku",
"description": "Gaming Reviews, News, Tips and More.",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#organization"
},
"potentialAction": [
{
"@type": "SearchAction",
"target": {
"@type": "EntryPoint",
"urlTemplate": "https://kotaku.com/?s={search_term_string}"
},
"query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
}
],
"inLanguage": "en-US"
},
{
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#organization",
"name": "Kotaku",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/logo/image/",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2025/07/kotaku-1200x900-1.jpg",
"contentUrl": "https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2025/07/kotaku-1200x900-1.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 900,
"caption": "Kotaku"
},
"image": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/logo/image/"
},
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/kotaku/",
"https://x.com/Kotaku"
]
},
{
"@type": "Person",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/person/70c4bdd475f28797469306bcb2a83ea9",
"name": "Kotaku",
"image": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/person/image/",
"url": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/df6aa61dd89286f95887d3899375f3b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g",
"contentUrl": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/df6aa61dd89286f95887d3899375f3b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g",
"caption": "Kotaku"
},
"url": "https://kotaku.com/author/jkleis"
}
]
}
/games/
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": [
{
"@type": "CollectionPage",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/games",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/games",
"name": "Games - Kotaku",
"isPartOf": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#website"
},
"description": "Everything you ever wanted to know about Games. News, stories, photos, videos and more.",
"breadcrumb": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/games#breadcrumb"
},
"inLanguage": "en-US"
},
{
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/games#breadcrumb",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"name": "Home",
"item": "https://kotaku.com/"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"name": "Games"
}
]
},
{
"@type": "WebSite",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#website",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/",
"name": "Kotaku",
"description": "Gaming Reviews, News, Tips and More.",
"publisher": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#organization"
},
"potentialAction": [
{
"@type": "SearchAction",
"target": {
"@type": "EntryPoint",
"urlTemplate": "https://kotaku.com/?s={search_term_string}"
},
"query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
}
],
"inLanguage": "en-US"
},
{
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#organization",
"name": "Kotaku",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/logo/image/",
"url": "https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2025/07/kotaku-1200x900-1.jpg",
"contentUrl": "https://kotaku.com/app/uploads/2025/07/kotaku-1200x900-1.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"height": 900,
"caption": "Kotaku"
},
"image": {
"@id": "https://kotaku.com/#/schema/logo/image/"
},
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/kotaku/",
"https://x.com/Kotaku"
]
}
]
}
🛡️ Trust Signals — external proof links that back the declared identity
| Page | Reviews | Proof links |
|---|---|---|
| / (home) | 22 | 3 |
| /feed/ | 0 | 0 |
| /games/ | 8 | 3 |
| /download/ | 8 | 3 |
This page presents a snapshot of public data from Kotaku, captured on May 30, 2026, to show how machine logic reads Identity & Authority signals into an AI reputation evaluation.
Purpose: This data is presented under “Fair Use” for the purpose of independent signal analysis, allowing readers to see the raw signals behind the reputation score.
Notice to Kotaku: This analysis is part of a non-adversarial audit conducted by 1 Euro SEO. The results are intended as professional feedback to help improve any website’s machine-readability and authority signals. The evaluation is free, and any company can request a fresh audit at any time.
Any company can use the insights for free and improve its voice. When a company has updated its content, it can always submit a new audit request, which will be reflected in a new current score.
To all users: You are encouraged to visit the live site at https://kotaku.jp to view the most current version of its content and see directly what this company is about and what it offers.