Editorial Standards
- Statement of Autonomy
- Reviews
- Embargos and NDAs
- Game Ratings
- Guest posts and sponsored content
- Relations with internal and external partners
- Download section
Statement of Autonomy
Gamepressure was created on the initiative of the employees of Webedia Polska SA, the leading gaming medium in Poland. Until 2020, most of the articles and news were translated. Currently, Gamepressure has a separate, independent team of reviewers consisting mainly of journalists based in the USA. Gamepressure's opinions do not necessarily coincide with the opinions of GRYOnline.pl. The publication of the given material on either of these portals doesn't automatically entail publication on the other – we consider each case separately, always prioritizing solutions that are best for Gamepressure's readers.
Gamepressure's editorial staff maintains independence in the selection of topics: it is therefore up to the editorial board members to decide what game will be reviewed and what article will be written. The opinions expressed on Gamepressure are those of the journalists writing for Gamepressure, and as such are not subject to any external influence.
Our sales department is strictly separated from Gamepressure's editorial staff, hence it has no influence on the selection of games reviewed as well as their ratings. The sales department may publish own sponsored content, but it is always explicitly labeled (see "Guest posts and sponsored content" below).
Reviews
The editorial staff most often receives review copies of games from third-party partners, which usually means the publisher, developer or a PR agency. In case we don't get access to a pre-release, review copy, we buy the games ourselves. Information on the origins of the reviewed product is always provided at the end of the review.
Choosing the exact games our editors want to review is entirely in their discretion. We never create "custom reviews," nor is it possible to "buy" reviews from us in any form. The reviewer's opinions do not necessarily coincide with the opinions of the editorial team as a whole – we carefully select the reviewers whom we believe are best suited to give individual titles due justice.
Embargos and NDAs
In order to publish reviews or information about games quickly and, on occasions, before the release, we contact the publisher or third-party partner who can provide us with a copy of the game. In order to receive such games, we usually must sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the publisher and agree to the terms of the so-called embargo. This is a common practice that protects the interests of the publisher. Gamepressure accepts the publisher's NDA and embargo rules only when they do not jeopardize journalistic ethics and the interest of our readers. In other words, an NDA cannot regulate our opinions and rating of the game, nor can it ban enumerating product’s defects in the review. The NDA also cannot ban the publication of our content before the release of the game.
We also accept invitations to trips to preview and review events, but, as in the case of reviews, the condition, and priority, is that we can deliver an impartial opinion.
Game Ratings
Since we are utilizing a scale from 0 to 10, with acceptable accuracy of 0.5, there are effectively 21 scores which our reviewers can award. For easier distinction, the ratings are symbolized in three colors:
- Red – from 0.0 to 5.0
- Yellow – from 5.5 to 6.5
- Green – from 7.0 to 10.0
Determining the score given in the review is in the reviewer's sole discretion. Our writers are trusted, experienced and proven authors and contributors to many publications from various outlets around the world. Therefore, the editorial office does not interfere in their score-awarding process. The exception is the 100% rating ("10"). We assume that this score is special indeed, and as such, it requires consultation with the entirety of the editorial office. For a game to receive the perfect score on Gamepressure, at least 3 editors who played the game must agree on the rating. That is why the perfect score is awarded relatively rarely.
Guest posts and sponsored content
Gamepressure does not publish guest posts. All content that appears on the website is written by the editorial staff. We do not provide backlinking services for money neither.
We do, under certain conditions, allow sponsored content to be featured on the website. Most importantly, such content must be written by us solely, and must be useful to our readers. Each sponsored article contains an explicit information about being made in cooperation with third parties. In the case of news containing offers from stores or third-party partners, we embed a text info box at the end of the article that informs about commissions received by us. There are no exceptions to these rules.
Sponsored content never includes game reviews – this type of content is completely autonomous and independent of any deals or advertisement campaigns.
Relations with internal and external partners
Gamepressure is part of Webedia Group, an international media group with headquarters in Levallois-Perret, France. The actions taken by our formal owners have no influence on the activities of our editorial office, nor the subject matter of these activities. In other words, the decision to publish a given text is made by our editorial staff alone.
Thanks to cooperation with other editorial offices belonging to the Webedia Group, it's possible to publish content translated from other, sister outlets, such as the German website Gamestar. In such cases, we always credit the original author(s) of the text. We do not pay for this type of content; we simply get to publish it as part of a friendly exchange.
The editors receive various gifts from publishers and developer studios, usually gadgets related to the currently promoted title. Such gadgets and gifts bear no influence on how we approach reviewing a given game. We usually receive them after publishing the review.
Download section
Gamepressure hosts an extensive download service containing various files related to video games, such as mods, patches and trainers. All files have been tested with up-to-date antivirus software at least twice. When publishing mods, we contact the original creators to get their permission. All files hosted on Gamepressure are genuine and do not infringe on any copyrights.