People started to lose patience with G2A around 2023.
People started to lose patience with G2A around 2023.
It seems to be due to those tweets where developers mentioned alternatives like pirating instead of buying off G2A. It's amusing how some posts swayed many opinions. Every time I read about G2A, people in the comments express anger, calling developers unsupportive, accusing them of theft, and labeling them thieves. I personally bought numerous keys from G2A and Kinguin without issues. It's also strange that people overlook the low average salaries in Eastern Europe and other regions, making it hard to justify spending 30-60€ on a game.
Those tweets were accurate. Keys on platforms like g2a and others are frequently obtained through illegal means, often resulting in developers and studios losing money. This is why people dislike g2a, kinguin, etc... they offer a space for illegitimate keys to be sold for profit by someone who acquired them illegally and makes a gain without contributing anything to the studio or developers who created the game.
When they began operating.
They openly trade stolen keys or keys obtained through stolen credit card information, along with various unusual items. They also offer protection services similar to mafia-like arrangements if you wish to avoid scams.
If you're looking for a cheap game,
purchase it during Steam sales or from Humblebundle. Be prepared to wait about a month for a sale, but at least you won't be directly supporting criminals and can instead contribute to a charity.
It's the same logic with buying cheap Windows keys from eBay among other things, while some of the game keys are obtained legitimately some are not, and because of the nature of G2A/Kinguin there isn't a way to tell if you're buying a legitimate key or one that was bought with a stolen credit card, stolen from devs, etc. Same with how you don't know if you're buying something that was stolen on eBay. I personally don't have a problem with it and have only had 1 small issue that was resolved quickly.
I hope everyone understands that playing video games can be quite costly.
I don't even attempt more now, I used to purchase every release that matched my interests. But at the beginning of 2018 I became really frustrated by how exploitative everything had become, so I stopped. Since then I've bought fewer than 20 games overall (before that I bought 2 or 3 each month) and none during the launch period. Honestly, I would have bought the RE2 Remaster at launch if I hadn't gotten it for free with a CPU. Now I just wait a few months and get them at lower prices and with updates.
And even then, during my childhood when purchasing games wasn't easy, I would focus on titles I was excited about and play them extensively. Even games I initially thought were mediocre would still get me through the year. I typically acquired around two to three new games each year. Additionally, I could always borrow games from friends when they finished using them.
You already receive games at a reduced cost; if not enough, wait for discounts. Avoid purchasing keys bought with stolen credit cards, as this often results in developers losing money. Or if you truly need a game to stay alive but can't afford it, at least obtain it through piracy. This approach is preferable to harming the developers like G2A's business model does.