We all love discounts, right? Videogames are one of my favorite ways to keep myself entertained, but buying the latest games as soon as they are released can become expensive. This is especially true for AAA titles. Fortunately, there are sites like G2A that sell game keys for prices that are several times lower compared to Steam. However, the question has to be asked: Is G2A safe, legit, or legal?
I am going to dive deep into what G2A is and why it has cheaper prices compared to most game sellers. I will also give you a verdict on whether you should buy from it or not. Let’s get started.
What is G2A?
G2A is a reseller like the popular site Kinguin. It is not an official authorized seller like Steam and Epic since the developers are not directly linked to resellers. They operate like Craigslist, where people can sell unlock codes for a much cheaper price.
They also sell items such as consoles, gaming PCs, productivity software, and more for a cheaper price. Basically, g2A is a gray market for games, gaming hardware, and accessories.
Is G2A Legit?
It is claimed that the sellers on G2A get these cheaper keys from areas that have lower-priced games. Some people also claim that they can afford to sell these keys at a discounted price because they brought them in bulk. You will also run into some YouTubers who claim that G2A has developer codes that can be sold for cheap.
While these claims are true sometimes, it is also true that a lot of the keys on this website are stolen. There have been cases where keys were sourced through stolen credit cards so I would say G2A is not as legitimate as the proponents would have you believe. G2A also places hidden charges and inactivity fees which I do not like.
Is G2A Legal?
You must be wondering whether G2A is legal or not since they sell games at a significant discount. Technically, it is legal. The company and the website are legal, as far as I can tell. G2A does not ask where its sellers get their products from, so it legally distances itself.
However, the same cannot be said about a lot of the sellers on the website. Stolen keys are not legal at all. Fortunately, if you purchase your games from G2A, it is highly unlikely that you would face any legal charges.
Is G2A Safe?
Is G2A safe? It depends on the seller that you are buying from. The sellers have reviews that you can check out. If they have good reviews, you can consider purchasing the keys from them. Make sure that you check out how many products they have sold until now.
If they have not sold a lot of products or if they do not have good reviews, then you should definitely stay away from them.
There is another important problem to consider when buying from G2A. The game developers can revoke the keys at any time if they think the keys were obtained illegally.
For example, Ubisoft once canceled a large number of keys since they were purchased through stolen credit cards. Most of these keys were purchased from G2A and Kinguin.
In fact, there are developers who have said that they would prefer that you pirate their games instead of purchasing them through resellers. Lex Decrauw, founder of RageSquid once wrote-
I’m a game developer with a game on steam and please just torrent my game instead of ing shady resellers, I’ll even give you the link. I understand people aren’t always able or willing to pay full price for a game, but seeing people play my game is the most important thing to me. Just torrent it instead of putting money in the wrong hands.
Final Words
You are going to run into people who claim that they have purchased games from G2A and they are completely safe, legit, and legal. I don’t recommend this website since there is a lot of shadiness surrounding this reseller.
If you want to purchase keys from the website, make sure you get keys from a well-reviewed seller and only spend money that you can afford to lose.