Where are the Keys coming from and how is it profitable for them to be sold at a lower price?
In: 4
Many game key sellers buy their keys in bulk directly from the publisher. They buy it at a discount and this allows them to sell generally at a slight discount compared to traditional retailers. Game companies are fine, since they’re getting paid, and usually market isn’t big enough to cause any issues with other distribution methods
In the past, there used to be a lot of cross-regional sales of keys, but this is less so now as many keys are region locked. You used to buy keys cheaply from eastern europe, russia, or latin america, and re-sell them to developed nations at a higher price (but still a discount compared to local price).
This also isn’t that new, even in earlier computer gaming days of the 80s and 90s, there were often grey market sellers who would acquire CD-Keys for games or even physical copies of games and software through various legitimate (or less than legitimate) means, and often you bought them in person or via a BBS or mail at a bit of a discount vs retail price. Not to mention all the pirate copies available.
Latest Answers