Activating a possible RUS key in USA

[Fokkas]

I know most people say "that's illegal", "don't trust key sites", "don't trust websites", and "never activate a key on steam cuz it's illegal or dangerous".

Well this is a curveball for you guys. I want to know if I bought a key for a game that was removed from Steam (Amazing Spider-Man), and if the key ends up being foreign - will it activate if I try it?

I really don't want an unusable game on my account burning a hole if it does activate. I'd love to be able to test it and see what region the key is before I put it in.

And Id have to do this because there is literally no other way to humanly buy this game on Steam anymore. But I refuse to use a VPN to activate or play the game.

[Cathulhu]

Depends on how the publisher has configured it.
It may or may not activate.
It may or may not work in your region even if it activates.

Just checked, RU keys can only be activated in the CIS region:
https://steamdb.info/sub/15778/

So, if you get a RU key, it won't work/activate.
Additionally, there is the question of languages available in the game. Russian copies are generally very limited and may not even offer english as an option.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Get a ROW key.

[Count_Dandyman]

Your refusal to use a VPN is a smart move as doing that would be going against the SSA.

As for if the key will work theres sadly more issues there then just it's region that can stop it. You have to remember that when the game was removed from steam the supply of keys buyable elsewhere was also shut down. After all this time and knowing the way pc game collectors can be it seems very odd for there to be any usable keys left especially at the low prices these people are offering to sell them for.