Tone-deaf timing as Editor-in-Chief obsesses over review key while Funcom lets staff go

A recent post by Manos Gryparis, CEO of PR World Limited and Editor-in-Chief of Game World, has generated a strong reaction in the gaming PR and media world. Gryparis’ post is in response to the recent layoffs at Dune: Awakening developer, Funcom. In the post, Gryparis argues that part of this may have been caused by Funcom’s seeming reluctance to provide review keys of Dune: Awakening for certain outlets, including his own. The response from the community and the industry has been less than kind.

Whining CEO blames PR for layoffs, saying they should have given out more review codes

Gryparis is the CEO of PR World Ltd, which, according to the LinkedIn page, “offers strategic counsel, planning and execution of well designed PR campaigns…” Gryparis is also apparently the founder of a gaming news site called Game World. The initial post starts off with the right idea: “It is sad that there are layoffs in Funcom just a few months after the Dune: Awakening launch…” but then takes a quick left turn: “But the fact is that the company did not [send] review keys to all gaming news websites.” Gryparis continues to specifically call out and tag Funcom’s PR Manager in the post, claiming that when he reached out for a review code for Dune: Awakening, he never heard back, despite the fact that they “were colleagues for like 5 years…”

The post, along with double-down edits.Source: LinkedIn

Review codes are a major part of any video game’s marketing cycle. Usually, they are sent out to gaming sites and other content creators a week or two ahead of launch, with the hope that the quality of the game will shine through, and positive reviews will boost sales. This is how reviews work with major sites around the world, including right here on Gamepressure. However, just because there is a precedent for marketing reasons, it doesn’t mean that any one site or individual is entitled to a review code. That’s at least part of why responses to Gryparis’ post have not been friendly. The other reason, though, is the much bigger one.

The video game industry is constantly plagued with layoffs, and the last few years have been particularly brutal, with tens of thousands of people losing their jobs. These kinds of decisions are made at the top level of companies. Investors, boards, and CEOs are the individuals who make decisions about who will have a job tomorrow. To pin the blame on the PR Manager and call her out directly in a public post is in incredibly poor taste, especially amid the layoffs.

Comments and responses, notice the copy-pasted response.Source: LinkedIn

Reading through the comments, the response is overwhelmingly negative, which of course, prompted Gryparis to double down on his post, claiming that the “hate comments” were mostly from other “people working in the PR industry who indirectly agree by not replying to gaming journalists,” and perhaps most heinously, “have suffered from layoffs too.” Gryparis goes on to further explain that: “A PR Manager should always reply to journalists who are asking for a game key and give those keys to them. Otherwise they act unprofessionally and with [a] lack of respect.” Finally adding, “Less publicity means less sales. Do the math.”

Good advice falls on deaf ears.Source: LinkedIn

Even if Funcom sending out more review codes would have somehow saved jobs, this doesn’t take away the fact that Gryparis’ take on the situation comes off extremely entitled and vengeful. If this is how Gryparis conducts himself publicly, it’s not that surprising that he didn’t get a response from someone who knows him. Gryparis has responded to every comment on the post, continuing to argue his side of the story. Even with the entire comment section telling him why this is a bad take, it doesn’t seem like anything will be learned here.

Dune: Awakening

June 10, 2025

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• Overview

• layoffs / employments
• Dune (franchise)