How To Pitch Articles To UploadVR

Last Updated: February 26, 2025.

At UploadVR, we regularly publish articles from freelance writers and if you're looking to write for us, here's what you need to know.

As part of my regular duties as UploadVR's Senior Editor, I'm entrusted with handling most pitches from freelance writers. As a leading voice across XR media, our goal is to deliver informative articles filled with expertise, original reporting, fresh perspectives and other insights across VR/AR/MR. While the biggest stories and games will be covered by our internal staff, we're open to suggestions.

With that said, here are some key details to keep in mind.

How To Pitch Us In The Email

Here are some general guidelines we recommend following when pitching UploadVR.

• Clearly label your email subject as a pitch — To avoid your email getting lost, we'd normally advise adding “Pitch:” to your email's subject line while mentioning the game's name.
• Include your headline — Headlines are ultimately reflective of your wider article. We want to know which game is this referring to and what's the hook of your piece. We don't enforce a strict character limit, so you don't need to make these too short, but we're also not after headlines that read like an entire paragraph.
• Outline your pitch — Tell us how you plan to follow through with your pitch. Summarize your angle, how you intend to approach the article, and the structure you expect to follow.
• Keep it concise — If you need four or five paragraphs to explain your pitch, we advise reframing it. We don't need you to outline every individual aspect providing the key points are addressed, brevity is an art form in itself. Ideally, keep your pitch within one or two paragraphs when sending an email over.
• Sell the idea to us — This effectively comes down to two points. Why are you the best person to tell this story, and why do you believe this will interest our audience?
• Do not use Generative AI — Please do not use generative AI to write your email pitch in any form. It's incredibly obvious, we will not respond to these emails, and this will significantly impact our likelihood of working with you. We also reserve the right to remove any articles written using generative AI without prior disclosure.
• Link your previous work — If we haven't worked together before, please include links to a portfolio, personal blog, or author profiles for other outlets. We're open to working with new authors, but it always helps to have a sample of your previous work.

Where To Send Your Pitch

There are two ways to send your pitch. While our Contact Us page goes to the whole team, we'd normally suggest directly emailing the following editors.

• Henry Stockdale: hstockdale@uploadvr.com
• Ian Hamilton: ian@uploadvr.com

You can also use our general inbox, tips@uploadvr.com. However, we generally recommend contacting editors instead, since this inbox is where we recommend readers/developers/publishers/PR etc. to send in relevant news stories and updates.

What We're Interested In Commissioning

• Original reporting and interviews — If you've got a high-interest story where you've directly spoken with different sources, we're always willing to hear your pitch. If you're pitching interviews for a game that's not publicly launched, we'd ideally need you to have gone hands-on with it first.
• Community-driven features — Do you have an intriguing tale you'd like to share about an existing VR community? Whether that's social VR platforms like VRChat to more traditional multiplayer games, we're interested in hearing these stories.
  • Why VR? Flying Through The Eiffel Tower With Your Sister.
• Reviews, impressions, previews — Reviews and impressions are the most commonly commissioned articles by UploadVR. Though we work with an existing freelance pool of writers, we're open to hearing from more people if you've got a specific interest in any niche genres.

What We Currently Aren't Looking For

• Anything that isn't related to VR/MR/AR/XR — This may sound obvious, but we regularly receive pitches that have nothing to do with the XR industry. We won't cover more traditional gaming unless a game has VR support, or anything outside XR technology. If your pitch only peripherally relates to XR, we probably won't accept it.
• Op-eds — While we welcome unique perspectives, op-eds (that aren't interview-driven) about big games or new hardware are largely matters UploadVR prefers to keep to its staff.
• Q&A interviews — We're open to interview pitches, but we don't want these features presented in a standard question and answer format. Here are some recent examples of our preferred approach.
  • How Into The Radius 2 Hit Nearly $3M Revenue So Far On Steam Early Access
  • Batman: Arkham Shadow Devs Talk Rescue Vision, Remote Work & New Game+
• Stories you've already written — This rule is mostly to avoid wasting your time. Editors may agree to a pitch while also requesting changes to your approach, which could involve significant rewrites if you've already completed your article. We'll always aim to help you shape these stories if guidance is needed.
• Articles about Web3/Crypto/Generative AI/Gambling — Though UploadVR has covered how select XR apps use generative AI in the past, this is not a subject we'll ever commission.

Our Rates

As of February 26, 2025, UploadVR pays the following USD rates for these types of articles with the following suggested word counts.

• News — $50 (200–300 words)
• Mini Impressions — $100 (400 words)
• Previews/Impressions — $150 (500–700 words)
• Reviews — $240 (minimum 800 words)
  • Review-in-progress — We pay an extra $60 minimum for a one-off update. This is negotiable depending on the scope.
• Features — Rates are negotiable due to how varied they can be, but we start from a minimum rate of $175.

Other Details

We occasionally take unpaid guest articles or editorials from XR experts like developers, researchers, and engineers looking to share something of broad interest to our community.

• Devin Reimer: Why Every VR Developer Needs A Hand Tracking Plan
• Don Carson: Cultivating Magic: The Art And Principles Of Walkabout Mini Golf Course Design

Guest articles like this are not something that would apply to freelance journalists. However, if you're an industry expert looking to share your insights, you can email Ian Hamilton (ian@uploadvr.com) about this.

We also have a separate marketing department with a different pool of writers producing labeled “Sponsored” content adhering to our public guidelines.

Potential marketing partners can email Beck Gibson (beck@uploadvr.com) with inquiries, this is not something handled by myself or Ian. For everything else that's not been addressed above, please email hstockdale@uploadvr.com.