#BEST WAY TO GET FREE GAMES ON PC SOFTWARE#

The important thing to note here is the difference between a retailer and a reseller. If it is found that the key you bought was obtained illegally, a chargeback on a stolen card could lead to your key being revoked and the developer taking a financial hit.

#BEST WAY TO GET FREE GAMES ON PC SOFTWARE#

Resellers also donвЂ™t give a cut to the developers, just like GameStop doesnвЂ™t cut From Software a check if they resell your used copy of Dark Souls on console. The prices are often much better than even SteamвЂ™s most generous sales, but you run the risk of supporting shady black marketeers if youвЂ™re not careful-especially if they seem to be offering a lot of вЂњtoo good to be trueвЂќ deals on newer games. The key you bought could just be an extra copy someone got from a bundle of a game they already own, but itвЂ™s also entirely possible that it was purchased illegally using a compromised account or stolen credit card info. Most of these sites also donвЂ™t have any sort of vetting process for new sellers, and only investigate illegal activity after an issue arises and has been reported by a concerned customer or developer. The issue there is that there isnвЂ™t an airtight way of vetting where the resellers that use these sites as a listing service got those keys, just like it can be difficult to determine whether or not the bike youвЂ™re looking at on Craigslist was jacked from a community college two counties away. A person or group who have somehow come into possession of Steam keys that havenвЂ™t been activated can post them on a reseller site at a price of their choosing, keeping most of the profit (minus a percentage and a small listing fee to the site). Key resellers, like G2A and Kinguin, are a bit different in that they operate almost like a flea market. They also sometimes offer better deals on certain games than Steam does, especially if itвЂ™s a developer or publisher selling their own stuff. One advantage to this, especially if youвЂ™re buying directly from a developer or publisherвЂ™s web store, is that it bypasses the 30 percent cut Valve normally takes and thus gives more support to the people who actually made and marketed the game. Steam gives out batches of keys directly to publishers and developers who can then sell them to you. While the most straightforward way of getting such a key is by buying a game directly from Steam (in which case you don't need to enter a key), itвЂ™s not the only way. What about other stores that sell Steam keys?Д®very game you buy on Steam has an associated, one-time-use key that unlocks it for play. ThatвЂ™s not unusual or excessive, necessarily, but there are other ways to obtain many games that give more support directly to the developer if you care to do so. Steam also takes a 30 percent cut of all sales. ValveвЂ™s efforts to curate the storefront have been largely hands-off and lacklustre, allowing large numbers of low-quality games to make it onto the store. It also has so many games on it at this point that it can be hard to find those gems that are really worth playing but donвЂ™t enjoy the backing of a major publisher or marketing team among all the noise. What are the drawbacks? Well, Steam uses an in-house DRM that forces you to launch a game in online mode before you can play it offline, and allows third-party DRM from publishers who sell their games on Steam that may require an always-on connection.

Best way to get free games on pc