Video games don’t come cheap these days, so if you find a website that sells affordable product keys for software and games, it’s understandable to feel wary. Scammers are rampant nowadays, and it can be hard to distinguish them from reliable businesses. In this case, one of the websites that caught the eye of the gaming community is G2A.com. Due to its affordable pricing, people are wondering whether it’s safe to purchase game codes there or if they should just stick to the official storefronts like Steam.
In this review, we’ll note down everything we know about G2A so you know what to expect.
What Is G2A?
G2A’s corporate website is G2A.co, where it details the company’s business model more clearly. G2A was founded in 2010 by a group of Hong Kong gamers who wanted to provide game licenses and retail services to its customers. By 2014, G2A became a marketplace that offered gift cards and game keys for Steam, Origin and other major platforms. What we appreciate about G2A is that it’s transparent about addresses and phone numbers, which isn’t the case for other companies out there. As such, we know that the company’s headquarters is in Hong Kong, but it also has an office in Poland for support purposes.
As mentioned, G2A is a marketplace now, which means that the game keys are being sold on the site by third-party sellers. Whether you’re an individual seller with an extra game key you haven’t activated yet, or you have a business that buys game keys in bulk to resell them, G2A welcomes you with open arms. The downside to this marketplace setup is that it is still prone to scams—you could end up buying a fake or illegitimate game key from one of the sellers, so that’s something you have to look out for.
How Does It Work?
To reiterate, G2A itself doesn’t sell any game codes and purely serves as a platform where sellers and buyers can come together virtually. That said, it functions pretty much like other key reselling websites out there. After making your purchase, you have to wait for the game key to be emailed to you. This usually happens instantly after payment is confirmed. Once you have the game key ready, you can head over to the relevant platform, where you can activate the said key. This could be in the Epic Games Store, Uplay, Steam, Origin, or wherever the game key you bought is for.
You’ll be given an option to paste in your game key on the platform, after which you can download the game’s files. Note that you’ll be downloading the files from the platform’s servers and not from G2A’s website.
Is G2A Safe?
One major question you’re probably asking yourself is: is G2A safe? In the past, the website used to have a “G2A Shield” added to your cart every time you chose a game to purchase. However, G2A now has a money-back guarantee in place just in case something goes awry with your purchase and the third-party seller doesn’t want to help out even when they’re supposed to. Other than that, G2A also automatically adds in a 10% ‘order fee.’ So when browsing for games and price matching, make sure you factor in the extra charges when comparing the prices on major platforms.
For the most part, G2A has a lot of positive reviews from customers who say that they were able to receive their game key right away and that they were, in fact, legitimate. Although, not everyone had a great experience buying from G2A. Some customers claim that they never received a key in their email or that the ones they received didn’t work.
Where Are the Game Keys From?
Unfortunately, G2A can’t always verify the source of the game keys because it depends on where the third-party seller got it. Sometimes, small resellers purchase these game keys whenever there are sales or promotions, while big companies most likely purchase these games from the distributors themselves. That said, G2A does its part to try and ensure safety and reliability at all costs by screening every seller.
Why Are the Games Cheaper On G2A?
When major sales occur, a video game’s price can be reduced by as much as 90%. This is when resellers strike by buying discounted games, which allows them to sell the games at a much lower price.
Conclusion
Given all this information, should you buy your video games from G2A? As far as we can tell, the countless positive reviews are a good indication that G2A is a reliable website. However, it would help if you remain wary and vigilant before finalizing your purchase because you might be buying from a bad seller. Always check reviews and make sure that the seller you plan on buying from has a good rating as well.
