G2A, the key reselling website that’s become infamous for shadiness, is not having a good few months. The company has been hit with myriad accusations of downplaying or ignoring fraud on their service, and their attempts to respond have largely been met with scorn and laughter from fans and developers impacted by the rampant problems with their key reselling business.
One recent attempt, a key-blocking tool that would allow developers to block their games for sale on G2A, was met with so little support that the company had to extend the deadline for signatures of support. Yes, you read that right, the company wants dozens of developers and publishers to show their support before they commit to developing a tool that would help improve their trustworthiness. If that sounds strange to you, you’re not the only one.
Earlier this week though, one indie developer took them up on that offer, claiming they were owed more than $300,000 over chargebacks originating from G2A sales. The developer is Unknown Worlds, the folks behind Subnautica. In a somewhat fiery Twitter post, Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland wasted no time with his message to G2A.
He threw his hat into the ring, calling the key-blocking tool proposal a “load of crap,” saying that anyone who bought into G2A’s message was buying into a lie. Even alleging malicious intent on the part of G2A in their actions of releasing the names of developers who backed the effort. His ultimate message of piracy over G2A is echoed by many indie developers, like one Mike Rose, who kicked off this latest round of controversy in late June.
In various attempts to quell the outrage, G2A has made various statements in addition to proposing the key blocker for their service. A long-winded response that ultimately came across to some as downplaying the issue was reinforced when in early July, G2A proposed it would pay 10 times the revenue lost due to chargebacks. Well, one Charlie Cleveland has done just that, let’s just wait and see what happens.
