Pimax Issues Apology Following Controversy Over Secret Social Media Incentive Program

Okay, so check this out. You know how everyone’s got these brand ambassador gigs and referral programs all over the place? Yeah, kind of a thing now. Well, Pimax—this company that makes VR headsets—decided they wanted in on that action but, uh, totally fumbled it. Like, big time. Here’s how it went down.

First off, Reddit user ‘Mavgaming1’ spills the beans, right? Leaks this whole chat from Pimax’s Discord channel. Imagine Pimax tapping folks to join a “Community Engagement Program”—fancy name, huh? Basically, post nice stuff about Pimax and get rewards, like… okay, Steam gift cards and discounts on their gear. But it gets crazier—a $1,000 trip to Shanghai if you’re the MVP. Wild, right?

Now, here’s the kicker. All you had to do was write a nice post on Reddit—or whatever site you hang out on—send it to Pimax, post it, score points, like a game. Had these cheesy guidelines too. “Your First VR Experience with Pimax” or something like that. Didn’t it just scream ‘fake grassroots’?

So Pimax admits—”Our bad, that was rogue employees.” They shut it down quick. Claim they’ve never, ever paid for good press before. Meanwhile, Jaap Grolleman, Pimax’s PR guy, steps up and says the messages didn’t even get official approval. Just some madcap move by a few folks at Pimax, which… yikes.

Only a handful, nine Discord users, got the whole deal, and just three got all the juicy details. So yeah, Pimax says no reviews actually went through. But man, what a headache, right? Potential marketing law violations, sneaky endorsements, all that jazz. FTC, UK’s CMA, EU laws—everyone frowns on this shady business.

Anyway—no wait, actually—what was I even saying? Damn, sidetracks. Oh yeah. Pimax’s little blunder could’ve been worse. But seriously, astroturfing? Maybe not the look they were going for.