We've had colourful discussions about G2A in our Telegram group, IRC, reddit and other places. Some people don't care and just want cheap games, but for those of you who want to support not only Linux, but gaming in general—read on.
I've written before about how IndieGameStand has to deal with fraud, and it's not pretty.
The developer tinyBuild originally had their own shop on their website, which they had to shut down due to chargebacks. They noticed that later G2A would suddenly get a bunch of keys to their games.
Here's the developer tinyBuild on how G2A has sold approximately $450,000 worth of their games without them being compensated.
Note: Seems their website is now suffering problems, here's a screen-grab of the article.
The developer emailed the store, and got a reply along the lines of "you won't get a penny from us, start selling your games on our store or we won't do anything about it".
Stores like G2A make me very angry, ripping off developers and gamers and by the looks of it they don't give a hoot, disgusting.
If you didn't know about this, fair enough, but I urge you to stop now. If you buy from G2A and you understand this, you're not helping developers at all. I implore you: if you use G2A just stop.
I should note, that I don't personally see anything wrong in selling on keys you legally own and haven't used to someone else. The problem is that stores like G2A built a business around it, which has obviously attracted the attention of a fair amount of scammers using stolen credit cards to buy keys and sell on. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I've written before about how IndieGameStand has to deal with fraud, and it's not pretty.
The developer tinyBuild originally had their own shop on their website, which they had to shut down due to chargebacks. They noticed that later G2A would suddenly get a bunch of keys to their games.
Here's the developer tinyBuild on how G2A has sold approximately $450,000 worth of their games without them being compensated.
Note: Seems their website is now suffering problems, here's a screen-grab of the article.
The developer emailed the store, and got a reply along the lines of "you won't get a penny from us, start selling your games on our store or we won't do anything about it".
tinybuildIn short, G2A claims that our distribution partners are scamming us and simply selling keys on G2A. They won’t help us unless we are willing to work with them. We are not going to get compensated, and they expect us to undercut our own retail partners (and Steam!) to compete with the unauthorized resellers.
Stores like G2A make me very angry, ripping off developers and gamers and by the looks of it they don't give a hoot, disgusting.
If you didn't know about this, fair enough, but I urge you to stop now. If you buy from G2A and you understand this, you're not helping developers at all. I implore you: if you use G2A just stop.
I should note, that I don't personally see anything wrong in selling on keys you legally own and haven't used to someone else. The problem is that stores like G2A built a business around it, which has obviously attracted the attention of a fair amount of scammers using stolen credit cards to buy keys and sell on. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Steam, Blizzard, EA and Ubisoft killed off the used games market resell, it's no wonder people that are not ready to pay full price for games turn to these websites.
Calling for boycott of key resellers won't work. They need to comply with EU laws first, that would be nice.
TinyBuild should disable the keys/games which were chargedBack (that's business 101), possibly, if their distribution platform (steam?) allows it, display a message to the final users that their game has been disabled because they've bought it from an unauthorized reseller
Calling for boycott of key resellers won't work. They need to comply with EU laws first, that would be nice.
TinyBuild should disable the keys/games which were chargedBack (that's business 101), possibly, if their distribution platform (steam?) allows it, display a message to the final users that their game has been disabled because they've bought it from an unauthorized reseller
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It's not G2A's fault that resellers are acquiring keys using stolen credit cards. Also it's not G2A's fault that developer releases a game in a bundle which you can acquire for 1$ and then just sell all the games for more than you've paid for the bundle. Resellers could sell their keys on eBay or any other e-commerce platform. Would you be angry on eBay then or an unfair seller? G2A is just an e-commerce platform with narrow target.
This. Then users would file a complain and that would be a catalyst for G2A to act upon.
Last edited by killyou on 21 June 2016 at 8:58 am UTC
QuoteTinyBuild should disable the keys/games which were chargedBack (that's business 101)
This. Then users would file a complain and that would be a catalyst for G2A to act upon.
Last edited by killyou on 21 June 2016 at 8:58 am UTC
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Quoting: killyouIt's not G2A's fault that resellers are acquiring keys using stolen credit cards.
While many make the confusion between G2A as a "standard" key reseller store (grey market) and G2A the reselling marketplace (where anyone can resell keys), it would be pretty gullible to not think G2A unofficially organizes the massive scams behind most anonymous resellers on the marketplace
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Thanks, I didn't know about G2A. Still have plenty of duplicate keys to get rid of :)
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TheRiddick Jun 21, 2016
I didn't know G2A was such a problem. Thought 'most' the keys were just bought as surplus/steamsale or from different countries for cheaper.
I did know that there were scammers selling keys on G2A as I have received a couple in the past, but didn't know the problem was of this magnitude. I'll definitely stop buying stuff from them in the future. Thought here in Australia it's quite hard to buy from official chains, the prices are pretty high IMO, generally I just wait for the yearly sales.
Starting to get annoyed with expansions that cost more than the original title..
I did know that there were scammers selling keys on G2A as I have received a couple in the past, but didn't know the problem was of this magnitude. I'll definitely stop buying stuff from them in the future. Thought here in Australia it's quite hard to buy from official chains, the prices are pretty high IMO, generally I just wait for the yearly sales.
Starting to get annoyed with expansions that cost more than the original title..
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Stupendous Man Jun 21, 2016
I was looking at G2A a couple weeks ago while searching for sales on various games. The store didn't seem very legit to me so I started researching it a bit.
According to G2A they are based in Hong Kong at 36/F, Tower Two, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay. They also seem to have a customer service office in Krakow, Poland. They have another web page at www.g2a.co which I suppose is their company page, not the store. In my opinion it all seems a little fishy.
Here's the good part though: they recommend you to contract their "G2A Shield" while buying from them. This will protect you from any unusable keys and allow you a refund if you have problems. Why should this even be necessary? Shouldn't all their keys be usable by default?
An interesting thing to note is they sell keys at one price directly on their store, and have a marketplace with even cheaper prices. For example, they sell XCom 2 at 32,44€ and the cheapest marketplace entry is 24,99€. I wonder what the difference between the two keys are?
Needless to say I didn't buy anything from, nor do I ever intend to do. There are lots of reputable stores elsewhere (not just Steam and GoG) which sell authentic Linux keys at good (but not too good) prices.
As has been mentioned by others, it is a shame only a few developers have regional prices. I live in a EU country with lower average wages than the rest of Europe, and paying 60€ for a computer games is hard for me to justify.
The only developers I know who consistently sell at regional prices are Croteam, possibly because they themselves live in a "poorer" EU country.
Regarding Geolocking of game keys, this would be a disaster for me personally. I have recently emigrated and often visit my family in another part of Europe. If all my games were region locked I wouldn't be able to play them there and would have to buy them again. Also, for privacy reasons I'm always connected to VPNs around the world, which would also make it difficult for me to play my games.
Same thing with translated games, while I speak the language fluently where I live, I prefer my games in English or their original language, if I understand it. This is the reason why I don't buy games physically here, often they are not available in English. Luckily online stores exist.
According to G2A they are based in Hong Kong at 36/F, Tower Two, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street, Causeway Bay. They also seem to have a customer service office in Krakow, Poland. They have another web page at www.g2a.co which I suppose is their company page, not the store. In my opinion it all seems a little fishy.
Here's the good part though: they recommend you to contract their "G2A Shield" while buying from them. This will protect you from any unusable keys and allow you a refund if you have problems. Why should this even be necessary? Shouldn't all their keys be usable by default?
An interesting thing to note is they sell keys at one price directly on their store, and have a marketplace with even cheaper prices. For example, they sell XCom 2 at 32,44€ and the cheapest marketplace entry is 24,99€. I wonder what the difference between the two keys are?
Needless to say I didn't buy anything from, nor do I ever intend to do. There are lots of reputable stores elsewhere (not just Steam and GoG) which sell authentic Linux keys at good (but not too good) prices.
As has been mentioned by others, it is a shame only a few developers have regional prices. I live in a EU country with lower average wages than the rest of Europe, and paying 60€ for a computer games is hard for me to justify.
The only developers I know who consistently sell at regional prices are Croteam, possibly because they themselves live in a "poorer" EU country.
Regarding Geolocking of game keys, this would be a disaster for me personally. I have recently emigrated and often visit my family in another part of Europe. If all my games were region locked I wouldn't be able to play them there and would have to buy them again. Also, for privacy reasons I'm always connected to VPNs around the world, which would also make it difficult for me to play my games.
Same thing with translated games, while I speak the language fluently where I live, I prefer my games in English or their original language, if I understand it. This is the reason why I don't buy games physically here, often they are not available in English. Luckily online stores exist.
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I have done this with steam Games and programs like norton when I was using windows.
But After reading this, I can see the problem, I know something was a bit wierd with G2A,
but I never bothered to check them, it was just cheap keys.
Still its a bad consumer practice and I see the problem in this.
Its been months sence I last ordered, and I think it was an anti virus key for norton or something like that.
And anti virus programs are sooo overpriced.
But I hade no idea it was this bad, and knowing this will make me stop using stores like G2A.
Sadly the damage is already done as we can see in the article, And like someone said above.
There are other options out there, with cheap prices, not just to cheap.
Very nice article!
I know there isnt everyday you come across this, but I would enjoy more informative stuff like this.
What goes on behind the scenes and so on.
Keep it up.
Last edited by Zelox on 21 June 2016 at 9:55 am UTC
But After reading this, I can see the problem, I know something was a bit wierd with G2A,
but I never bothered to check them, it was just cheap keys.
Still its a bad consumer practice and I see the problem in this.
Its been months sence I last ordered, and I think it was an anti virus key for norton or something like that.
And anti virus programs are sooo overpriced.
But I hade no idea it was this bad, and knowing this will make me stop using stores like G2A.
Sadly the damage is already done as we can see in the article, And like someone said above.
There are other options out there, with cheap prices, not just to cheap.
Very nice article!
I know there isnt everyday you come across this, but I would enjoy more informative stuff like this.
What goes on behind the scenes and so on.
Keep it up.
Last edited by Zelox on 21 June 2016 at 9:55 am UTC
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lucifertdark Jun 21, 2016
I've bought from G2A in the past but after reading this I'm no longer going anywhere near that site. Thanks for the heads-up Liam.
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Quoting: lucifertdarkI've bought from G2A in the past but after reading this I'm no longer going anywhere near that site. Thanks for the heads-up Liam.Glad to see you and a few others appreciate issues like this.
If I can even turn around a few people into not buying from questionable sources: Job done.
I know a few people don't agree, and that's fine too, like all editorials it's my opinion and we are free to disagree, but I consider the entire business model of G2A highly questionable as it does end up in situations like this repeating.
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From the GOG.com terms of service:
"6.11 Other legal rules applying to Store Credit and Bonus Codes: Store Credit and Bonus Codes do not constitute electronic money of any kind. Store Credit and Bonus Codes are non-refundable and non-transferable. Store Credit and Bonus Codes have no cash value and are not exchangeable for cash. Store Credit and Bonus Codes do not constitute personal property rights, have no value outside GOG.com and can only be used to purchase GOG content. Store Credit and Bonus Codes that are deemed unclaimed property may be turned over to any applicable authority. Store Credit is valid for one year from the most recent purchase that gave you Store Credit (so any new purchase resulting in you getting Store Credit will refresh the expiration date of your Store Credit balance). GOG.com may implement additional rules on the use and amount of Store Credit and Bonus Codes in the future."
"9.1 Please follow these rules regarding the GOG services and GOG content:
(a) Only use GOG services or GOG content for your personal enjoyment (for example, don't use them to make money)."
So for example when GOG gives out games for free or the like, you can't take those keys and sell them on G2A. So any such keys can't be legitimate if they appear on G2A. So when G2A in the past has claimed that it has sold legitimate keys of The Witcher 3 for much cheaper than it is on GOG that has been a lie.
"6.11 Other legal rules applying to Store Credit and Bonus Codes: Store Credit and Bonus Codes do not constitute electronic money of any kind. Store Credit and Bonus Codes are non-refundable and non-transferable. Store Credit and Bonus Codes have no cash value and are not exchangeable for cash. Store Credit and Bonus Codes do not constitute personal property rights, have no value outside GOG.com and can only be used to purchase GOG content. Store Credit and Bonus Codes that are deemed unclaimed property may be turned over to any applicable authority. Store Credit is valid for one year from the most recent purchase that gave you Store Credit (so any new purchase resulting in you getting Store Credit will refresh the expiration date of your Store Credit balance). GOG.com may implement additional rules on the use and amount of Store Credit and Bonus Codes in the future."
"9.1 Please follow these rules regarding the GOG services and GOG content:
(a) Only use GOG services or GOG content for your personal enjoyment (for example, don't use them to make money)."
So for example when GOG gives out games for free or the like, you can't take those keys and sell them on G2A. So any such keys can't be legitimate if they appear on G2A. So when G2A in the past has claimed that it has sold legitimate keys of The Witcher 3 for much cheaper than it is on GOG that has been a lie.
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