Game devs oppose G2A, request that players pirate their games instead

Several game developers have banded together to say that they’d rather players pirated their games instead of giving any sort of payment to G2A.

The pro-piracy-in-certain-situations sentiment arose after Mike Rose, ‘the No More Robots guy’, tweeted that G2A had taken out premium sponsored ads on Google.

https://twitter.com/RaveofRavendale/status/1144971664855371777

The ads can’t be deactivated and show up above the developers’ own links. It’s important to note that devs get no revenue from games purchased via adverts.

G2A is a digital marketplace that specialises in selling videogames and game keys, often at a cheaper price.

However, G2A also has a habit of getting into trouble after it’s turned out on several occasions that some keys have been acquired either illegally or through morally dubious means.

Mass-selling these sorts of keys has an incredible negative impact on smaller developers, who miss out on potential sale revenue.

Devs forced into such a situation also have to spend time sorting out the mess and tracking down and deactivating stolen keys, amongst other things.

Descenders developer RageSquid was one of the first to quote Mike’s tweet and plead with players to just torrent games instead of buying them on G2A.

Please torrent our games instead of buying them on G2A https://t.co/gktACBP1KZ

— RageSquid (@RageSquid) June 29, 2019

The sentiment was echoed by Rami Ismail, who said that he’d rather see players who are unable to afford a game opt to pirate it instead of buying them from a key reseller.

If you can't afford or don't want to buy our games full-price, please pirate them rather than buying them from a key reseller. These sites cost us so much potential dev time in customer service, investigating fake key requests, figuring out credit card chargebacks, and more. https://t.co/25NWxrj8f8

— Rami Ismail / ???? (@tha_rami) June 30, 2019

“These sites cost us so much potential dev time in customer service, investigating fake key requests, figuring out credit card chargebacks, and more.” Ismail added.

What do you think? Would you rather buy a game legally at full price or risk going with a key resale site? Let us know in the comments below.