The ill-fated partnership between Gearbox and G2A has finally collapsed, to the surprise of no-one. Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition was originally set to debut on the G2A platform with a unique Collector’s Edition. The internet rejected the deal, including a YouTube personality named TotalBiscuit who noticeably pledged to cease covering Gearbox entirely over the arrangement. Now it’s dead, but G2A isn’t going out quietly.
G2A’s issues all stem from its vague and often shady business practices, built around reselling redeemable game keys in a sort of secondhand seller market. The problem is how these keys are obtained in the first place, which ranges from re-selling Humble Bundle keys to fraudulent credit card purchases. After realizing how controversial G2A is, Gearbox backpedaled. Together with TotalBiscuit, it curated a list of demands that G2A change its policies and practices, lest the deal with Gearbox go sour. G2A responded to these demands, but not before doing approximately nothing and letting the Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition deal vanish into the ether.
G2A accuses Totalbiscuit and Gearbox of being dishonest and acting rashly without all the facts. The company claims many of the requests are already being practiced at the company, which seems debatable to say the least. It also outright refuses to bother with others, citing that developers are more or less trying to take advantage of consumers despite their legal rights to seek out competitive prices.
What a mess! I doubt we’ll hear the last of G2A as the industry continues to fight and/or figure out key sellers.
Source: PC Gamer