After all the recent controversy surrounding the “gray marketplace” G2A, an olive branch of sorts from the key reseller has failed to gain much traction with developers. The company proposed a G2A key blocker tool that would help to prevent the unapproved sale of specific game keys on their website—those given to supposed press and influencers for the purpose of coverage and giveaways, for example—but so far, only 19 developers are said to have called for such a tool. That number seems incredibly low following the recent outcry.
G2A had a somewhat dubious reputation to begin with, but things recently came to a head when Mike Rose, founder of indie publisher No More Robots, tweeted asking consumers to pirate their games instead of purchasing through G2A, as that way neither party would benefit from a sale, instead of G2A solely profiting from somebody else’s work. After his remarks gained traction, other developers, consumers, influencers, and members of the press came to echo Rose’s sentiment, leading G2A into a series of defensive plays which arguably hurt the company’s case more than helping it. Perhaps the most notable misstep was contacting several gaming websites with a request to publish sponsored content authored by G2A themselves without proper disclosure.
ALSO: G2A sponsored post reportedly asks websites to avoid proper disclosure (Update)
The sequence of events would seemingly point toward an overwhelming response with regards to a key blocker from developers — and the independent community in particular — though that reportedly hasn’t been the case. G2A shared the news that only 19 studios had come out in support of the tool, though due to the cost of its potential implementation they were seeking 100. With the former deadline of August 15 approaching quickly, G2A has extended it to the end of the month in order to allow extra time for a hefty 81 further developers to let their voices be heard.
Hopefully the extension provides sufficient enough time for any parties to share their interest with G2A directly. It’s entirely possible, however, that many deem the offer to be too little too late and instead support a change.org petition from catalyst Mike Rose calling for G2A to stop selling indie games altogether. Comparatively, that sits at 6,270 signatures at the time of writing.
