G2A proposes a key-blocking tool for developers

Last week we published a very long article. In its update we mentioned that we’ve been talking to developers and learning about the issues they have with our marketplace, so that we could offer a possible solution. We believe we’ve found it.

But first, a quick update on our offer to pay 10x more than what the developers lost on chargebacks. We’ve received multiple messages since then, but none of them were connected to this case.

However, we got tons of valuable feedback that made us realize we were indeed short-sighted of many other aspects. Everyone’s responses helped us understand the problem a bit better, and thanks to them we saw that the developers were mainly concerned about two categories of keys: review and giveaway ones. These two represent a very small fraction of all the keys sold on the marketplace but may still be a real problem for the devs.

1. Review keys. We’re now aware (thanks to the many voices like below) that our current solution may not be convenient for developers, because the entire process can be very time-consuming.
   

   Release a game and you get bombarded by people pretending to be review sites. You have to spend all kinds if time vettting if they're real people or not, and error on the side of not. Not swag, people pretending to be someone else so they can sell your games on @G2A_com.

   — Fun Infused Games (@FunInfused) July 8, 2019

   Scamming developers for review Steam keys to sell is getting pretty professional from r/gamedev

2. Giveaways. In most cases, we have no problems on our marketplace with people selling the keys they got from giveaways. At the same time, we found out that some of these keys may have been gained using unethical methods – bots, for example. We agree that abusing giveaways is not OK, and we would like to prevent such situations from happening. We’re positive we can find the right balance here, so that both the developers and users can benefit from such a solution. 

Both issues can be solved using the tool we’re proposing. Here’s how it would work: 

1. You, the developer, only need to get verified. All you have to do is prove that you can act in the name of the studio you’re representing, so that we can deter any impostors. Once your identity is confirmed, you will gain access to two separate sections.
2. The first of these is the “Review keys” part. Once you generate keys to be sent out for a review to various sources, all you would need to do is select your game in our panel and paste the keys you don’t want to pop up on our marketplace.
3. Once that’s done, each time anyone tries to sell a key for your game, our algorithm will check the keys you have provided us with. If there is a match, the seller will get a notification that the key has been blocked so that they can’t sell it.
4. The second section would be the “Giveaway” part. This panel works in the same way as the previous one – just fill in the keys you will be giving out that you don’t want sold before you start the giveaway.
5. If a seller tries to sell more than 3 keys that match the ones in the giveaway database, our system won’t allow that.

We have already made some calculations, and the development of such a solution will be time-consuming and expensive. We will cover all the costs, of course, but we just need to know that you, the developers, are going to use it. That’s why we ask you to register using this short form:

If at least 100 developers sign up within a month (until 15th of August; to assure transparency, the list will be public), we’ll start working on the key-checking tool, and of course let you know about the timeframe and other important details.

Please keep in mind that even without such a tool, we’re always ready and willing to help everyone on a daily basis through the means of a less technical approach. In other words: just write to the G2A Direct team and let them know if there is a problem.

As a side note: none of the above involves the G2A Direct program. It hasn’t changed and still has the same perks, including the possibility for the devs to earn 10% each time someone else sells their games.

We are aware that this proposal doesn’t solve all the issues. Many developers would like to permanently remove their games from the free market. While we understand their point of view, it’s not a black or white situation. Both sides have valid points and should respect each other’s arguments. G2A, like any other marketplace in the world, is to assure that independent sellers can offer the products they own for others to buy. This results in lower prices on games, electronics, gadgets and everything else gamers need.

And this is what we’re all about.