A third-party marketplace for digital games, G2A is launching a new initiative, looking to support developers more than ever before.
“As a leader in the digital gaming marketplace, we recognize our responsibility to serve the greater good for the entire gaming industry,” G2A says in a press release posted on their corporate website.
G2A is an online market, much like eBay, that facilitates the sale of digital game codes. Often sold by third-parties that have either purchased digital codes in bulk or directly from the distributor, the Steam, Uplay, GOG, and even PSN and Xbox Live keys are generally much cheaper than you would usually find them elsewhere. Looking to better support developers however, G2A will soon institute a range of new features. Listed and explained by the company, they include:
- Royalties on Third-party Auctions: Developers may apply a royalty of up to 10 percent for any of their products sold on the G2A marketplace, which provides a way for developers to monetize third-party transactions.
- Priority Placement: Developer-managed auctions will be listed first, above third-party sellers, to provide more visibility and transparency. Developers will also be able to create their own custom storefront featuring all of their products and promotions.
- Chargeback Protection: G2A offers G2A Pay with free integration to developers as a protection on their own websites to mitigate their risk factors (especially beneficial for small developers, beginners and those who feel that their security systems are not sufficient).
- Dedicated Database Access: Developers will have access to our database information to verify sales, volume and timing to track the lifecycle of every key and identify illegal practices.
- Dedicated Account Managers: We’re expanding our dedicated account manager model to support developers and to resolve any question or issue, especially those related to security concerns.
- Developer Funding Option: Many gamers wish to support their favorite developers. For the first time, they will be able to contribute funds directly through an additional button on the developer’s product page.
- Expansive Global Access: Multi-language translation program expands exposure for developers to our 10 million global customers who are eager for new games from Indie developers.
“We support all members of the gaming community and we’re pleased to bring these new benefits to all developers at no additional charge,” G2A adds.
The changes mark a new direction for the digital marketplace as they move towards developers selling their games to gamers directly. Last fall, Riot banned G2A from sponsoring League of Legends events due to disagreements over how the marketplace did not support developers enough. Only time will tell if the new system is enough to satisfy previously disgruntled developers.
Testing of the features will begin over the next two weeks, with the full release planned for July 29.