How long do game codes last?

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Jingles the Adulterous Elf Jul 16, 2013 @ 3:48am

I bought a game for a friend building a PC, but as Gaben once said, these things take time. I'm afraid the game code will expire before the PC is usable. How long do game activation codes last? And if I activate a game I already own on Steam, will it go into my inventory?

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craigal Jul 16, 2013 @ 4:07am

I don't know if the codes expire. What you could do is get your friend to create a steam account now if he has not already.

He can then log into steam with his account on yours or someone elses computer and redeem the code.

The game will then be available for download on his own computer when it is ready

Last edited by craigal; Jul 16, 2013 @ 4:07am

deepcapture Jul 16, 2013 @ 4:07am

If you paid for it, you should be able to keep it in your inventory for as long as you need.

Only the occasional "free with pre-purchase" games have ever gone off on me. And I haven't had that happen for a good long while now.

Jingles the Adulterous Elf Jul 16, 2013 @ 4:17am

Thanks for the info. I want to avoid having them create the account before hand though because it is meant to be a surprise. But I'll hold on to the code if they don't expire.