Gamekey
A game key is a license key for computer games . These keys in password form are usually included with computer games. In addition, hardware game keys in the form of ROM modules from Jakks Pacific have been available since 2005 .
use
With this, the game manufacturer ensures that computer games are also original and that an installation is verified. These keys have become indispensable, especially in the online and multiplayer area. Among other things, this ensures that every computer game can only be used once in multiplayer mode over the Internet. Since 2011 the game key has become more and more important, because it is possible to receive these keys by email from online shops and then download the game from the manufacturer, which makes it unnecessary to go to a store to purchase a game. The download is always active and can be started again and again if lost. Many shops now only offer these games as downloads.
Gamekey Shops
Various shops only offer game keys for download and these usually deliver the desired key by email within a few minutes, as well as activation of the download link at the manufacturer of the respective game. From this, price comparisons developed that are tailored to these download versions. As a rule, Gamekey Shops carry European, sometimes also game keys from the CIS countries . These are cheaper to buy and could therefore be resold on the gray market with more profit. Game platforms such as Steam or Origin take action against this unauthorized sale in other countries. In the case of games like Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3 , Russian keys for European players have been blocked. Steam has currently set country blocks for some players, which break down according to the IP address, whether the respective owner of the key is authorized to play with it. However, this can be bypassed with VPN servers. In doing so, however, players sometimes violate the general terms and conditions of the individual game platforms.
Illegal activity
Due to the difficulty of activating keys from cheaper countries, there is an increasing number of credit card fraud by various retailers in order to stay at the top in the price war. For this reason, there is also criticism from many sides of platforms such as G2A , which offer a platform for stolen and illegally acquired game keys. For example, tinyBuild 2017 spoke up and accused G2A of having sold keys for their games worth € 450,000.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ G2A sold $ 450k worth of our game keys. In: tinybuild.com. June 21, 2016, accessed October 5, 2019 .