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The one you are talking about are not necessarily illegal but they do buy the keys for cheaper than legit keysellers.
Naturally publishers don't like it. I used to be against it too but then I got banned for telling someone that it's bad.
What I actually meant to say is that there are no guarantees but often enough those resellers buy their keys as pre-order edition. You'd have to ask them.
Do you want to re-check with sales department of SGS?
Humble Bundle sells legit key only, which means they get the keys from publisher directly. otherwirse it means someone in SGS secretly sells these keys without permission.
btw, HB's parent company is IGN. so definitely not the gray market key seller.
I think you need to correct this.
Steam, GOG, etc are all digital storefronts, and don't sell any physical editions (meaning a physical box, physical manual etc) in any of their editions.
I'd also be shocked if reputable, licensed companies like GMG or Humble Bundle are selling illegal copies!
Actually, this is not true. As its the publisher that is the one that makes they keys and distributes them. If they end up in the hands of a key reseller, than its either because it was sold to them or due to negligence by the publisher into who they allowed to purchase. WHo than resold those keys.
But end of the day. They are still legit. That is why Steam allows those keys to be used on their platform. If this was such a problem as you and others have tried to make it out to be in the past. Valve would of removed the activate a product on Steam function long ago.
To the OP. CD keys is fine but you have to read the info on what it comes with. Some keys do not include the pre-order bonus but will have DLC with it. So again, just read what comes with the activation.
Again, if this was such an issue, as you and others are making it out to be. Valve would of removed the function from Steam to activate keys.
They work and the function is still there.
Are you just going to blindly reply to what others say.
The publisher doesnt just sell keys to Steam.
A publisher will sell their keys to whomever buys them. Thats why all these key reseller sites exist. If that wasnt the case, than Steam would be the only place to buy.
I gave a list of the official digital games stores for Stalker 2, as they are mentioned on stalker2.com .
My point is that on Wednesday, when the game will be released, there are going to be some people discovering they have been scammed. Maybe not you, but at least others. It's not just about fair money, it's also for players who will have to pay the game twice to play (and scammers getting rich).
A lot of keysites use stolen credit cards to pay for their keys. When the credit card is shown to have been stolen, the transactions are often reversed.
There are legit keysites out there but they don't offer discounts of up to 50 dollars on new releases. It's easy to spot which ones are using stolen credit cards.
Its not anyone's place to say. Thats up to the lawmakers. But using common sense and legit stores like CD keys. You wont have an issue. As they have been around for years.
If websites are making fake keys and trying to sell them. Thats a whole other story. Even than, your credit card company will refund and you dont lose anything because it was a scam, and there are safeguards in place for that. Which in turn, the authorities than take over to investigate that so called game store.
End of the day. No money is lost on the consumers end.
GmG is legit, steam authorized, Fanatical is steam authorized and so is Humble Bundle. HOWEVER, they are third party sites and because of that, steam offers no support if you have issues with your purchase. Purchasing through steam= full support and refund. Purchasing outside of steam is a discount (sometimes.) and no refund/support, so it's the risk you take.
Grey market sites such as the one OP mentioned, are not supported, nor authorized by steam, thus their keys are generally cheaper than their competitions.
Again, if this was such a thing as big as people are trying to make it. There would be such a crack down on these sites due to so much fraud. But the same key sites still exist. Even ones which have had such a bad rep for years.
Now, if it was so bad as people are making it out to be. How can these sites still operate? Especially in today's world where the gaming industry is making so much money. I think someone would take notice and have them shut down.
Like Valve. If they would be losing so much money due to resellers not using their platform or if this was such a problem. You would think they would put a stop to it and no longer allow keys to be redeemed on their platform. But they dont.
Almost true. Don't know about Fanatical or Humble Bundle, but GmG are a UK based retailer and subject to UK law and the digital goods act, so rather than having to raise a dispute with Steam you just have to raise it with GmG.