I make no assumption. I said they have a good relationship. I do not assume but infer quite sensibly that they're very kind treatment of rich and influential epic has something to do with this relationship.
Such a mild observation. Oh but it does open the door to doubt, doesn't it? Do you make any room for a little doubt? If you think that would weaken your position, I assure you it will not.
Saying that they have a good relationship
is an assumption, because there is no actual evidence of that. What PC Gamer has done is published some pieces that are supportive of some things Epic has done recently.
To infer 'closeness' from PC Gamer's actions is to make a big mistake and would in no way be sensible. What PC Gamer did does not relate to having a cozy relationship with Epic. There is no relation at all - any outlet can publish whatever they want. Pro Epic, Anti Epic, whatever. To cross the line from publishing stuff to getting all buddy-buddy with a major player in the industry that PC Gamer covers on account of the nature (largely pro Epic) of that coverage would be a fairly enormous breach of ethics, and I do not assume/infer/whatever the language that the people at PC Gamer would do that kind of thing, and there is absolutely zero evidence that they have done so here.
I don't really look for doubt so much so much as I look for things that are reasonable to infer, I look for evidence, I do not assume that people are operating maliciously.
To say that an outlet is engaging in a quasi legal*, morally bankrupt scheme to accept money from a store front on account of the outlets coverage of said store front, that is a big thing. It''s a serious attack on the character of the people involved. It requires evidence, even to raise it as a serious possibility. Decent people do not speak of others in this way when there is no actual factual basis for the accusation.
*Future would be required to disclose this scheme to shareholders on account of the scheme having a material risk to the company in that it involves a Future asset shedding itself of basic journalistic integrity, which in turn - if it were to be exposed - would materially impact the value of that asset.