What do you think of the sale?
Yes, it's a GOG key. The only one in the sale that I've seen. All the rest are Steam keys.
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Ah, I hadn't even noticed the Ubisoft titles since those are on a separate page and not discounted as much.
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You came up with that all by yourself?Nice work Sherlock..say just one more question....you do know that keys can be had from retail copies right?
They can also be steam keys sold as GOG since you could redeem them on GOG for a free DRM copy https://www.gog.com/witcher/backup but usually only traders and such go that route.
Though more and likely they come from retail would be my guess
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well, blacklisting me doesn't change the fact that stores sell Witcher games as gog keys like here for example:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-enhanced-edition
and by the way, you may want to have a look at this announcement
https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/uWdUq/two-way-blacklists
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It's the sales front-end for G2A, so the usual G2A considerations (most notably, being careful with G2A shield) apply.
Past that, I haven't heard of any keys from HRK not working or being revoked. Oddly, HRK itself links to its TrustPilot page (which is spammed with dubiously phrased positive reviews by 1 review accounts), which does have some criticisms listed; so you can check through there, see if anything concerns you: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/hrkgame.com
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It's the sales front-end for G2A, so the usual G2A considerations (most notably, being careful with G2A shield) apply.
I thought G2A had it's own sales front-end? G2A is a mixed retailer and marketplace.
HRK is affiliated with G2A, but not as a substitute for dealing with G2A directly.
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I did mean G2A Network [rather than G2A specifically], yes. While other elements of the network such as Orly and G2A have started offering sales of their own, I recall HRK being marketed early on by G2A as their affiliated store. More recent conversations with HRK [1] have indicated that their ties don't run that deep. My point, however, was exclusively meant to relate to the fact that HRK shares similar legitimacy and purchasing considerations to G2A, not to make comment to ownership elements.
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Yeah, I wouldn't trust that conversation that much. It's the same conversation where it's stated that "For AAA games we have connections with authorized distributers around the world." and when I purchase one I get this(see picture, the only edit I made is redacting *insert evil giggle* the key and order #) when I click the magical redeem button. If that's not shady I don't know what is. Emphasis on authorized. Oh, and this purchase was done months after rachel's post, that was what made me give them a chance.
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They're a part of the G2A network, yes. They used to feature G2A elements heavily on the site, but it seems they've pretty much excised such mention from the site by this point. You can still notice it in their advertisement options, however, as I believe they still quite regularly tie back to G2A.
Orly has had a pretty well-noted history of negative consumer interactions, and considering the direction the site has gone, it no longer really seems to have any different considerations from other key G2A sites, other than the fact that you don't necessarily have to spend money on it (though considering how monetized it has become, don't expect to get much out of it if you don't).
As an example, when Orly was sent complaints about the odd inclusion of both auto-playing youtube videos and anti-ad-block elements (meaning there was no way to avoid the videos), their responses was essentially "Fuck you, that's what you'll accept if you want to use our site." (The videos generally were just game trailers, which made their response all the more confounding, as there shouldn't have been any reason for them to feel compelled to retain the auto-play element.) Then there was how their ads were causing significant issues for users, and their anti-ad-block was screwing things up even with adblock disabled..
"Oops, we're heavy-handed, sorry, but that's how we feel is best to proceed, give us some time to work out the kinks- and yes, certainly, we'll disable auto-play, because we're not a blog from the 90s" would be one thing, but the way they've actually responded to consumers is.. well, very norm for the G2A network. Now that they're pushing more and more into sales of their own, I'm imagining we're going to see it lining up all the more with it being given typical HRK considerations as time goes on.
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Are we talking about the same site? I haven't come across any of what you mentioned.
And if "negative consumer interactions" = G2A, then Steam is more G2A than G2A itself..
still notice it in their advertisement options
what exactly? Only seeing standard google ads.
how monetized it has become
in what way?
pushing more and more into sales
Having a whole of 24 games on sale through credits and not $ isn't really what I would call pushing.
Looking how they are German based with a valid Imprint, I can't really see any connection to HongKong masking based G2A.
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That's an illusion caused by not seeking people who have had issues. Plenty of people have stated problems in pretty much every G2A thread (and these are a salesfront associated with them, complete with gray-market practices). Not an official retailer, you take your chances, etc.
For reference, my issues with them (their business model, perhaps not the same on this front-end) was having the extra charge for the 'shield' taken despite having purposely removed it, and also being subscribed to a monthly recurring charge for it. This wasn't made immediately apparent so I'm glad I noticed, and I was unable to cancel this on their site until (if I recall) two days prior to the subscription charge being issued. For the small charge I was willing to swallow it as a dumb mistake in dealing with them more than once, but I'm not alone in this regard. Any site that charges for basic product assurance / moderation of their sellers should always be approached with caution.
Also not the best choice if you actually want to support the devs behind a game too, so something worth thinking about if you were thinking of an indie title from some upstart, etc.
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They are affiliated with G2A yet they are neither owned by them nor the same company (AFAIK). So no you were not. It is a completely different marketplace presumably run by totally different people, so judging them by the actions of others is not on point.
And no, I have not heard of anyone having issues with HRK. What you heard or experienced with G2A has nothing to do with MINE experience (as indirect as it may be).
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And yet they have the same approach to key acquisition and reselling, sans the user marketplace side, and consciously want to be associated with each other. They may claim to be separate entities (and they may even be just that), but the same cautions apply. It's like being in the wild and facing an angry brown bear or an angry black bear there are a number of common cautions to consider in both. Caution isn't a bad thing. :P
Also please don't move the goalposts like that, you said I was off topic, I showed how I wasn't. My main point raised was in issues I've had with gray market sites that fit that outline, which are in a form of 'alliance'. The thread isn't solely about your experience, I bounced off your post and into my own. Also, as of this thread, you can now be aware of people having issues with HRK if you check the other posts. I see no issue here.
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You are judging someone's job by the experience you've had with someone's else and that in my book is faulty. As long as they are not run by the same people, I see no reason to not differentiate them from each other despite their admittedly multiple similarities. Judging by their similarities after all, is just assumptions and conclusions you jump into based on a similar experience you may had. It's somewhat like saying, for this Supermarket doesn't provide me the desirable experience, every other Supermarket similar to it is as bad. You of course may not be far off, but still the impression of the customers that used it is more accurate than those assumptions (and that even is subjunctive as we are not all pleased by the same means).
And I still think your initial reply was off topic as you didn't focus on HRK, for which the comment was posted, but you rather focused on mentioning why G2A specifically is bad . You didn't even point out their similarities, other than mentioning that they are associated with each other (which for me means nothing, as even Indiegala was associated with them for a brief time by using the G2APay).
Don't take me wrong, I am neither keen on either of them myself, nor am I in any way associated with them. I just give everyone the benefit of the doubt and my judgement tends to not be based on someone's partners, associates or similar practices with others, but rather on the quality of the service they on their own output. We can just agree on disagreeing as we probably see things differently.
PS: All of these doubts you and I may have, is the reason I said Probably in my initial comment. Were they an authorized reseller my response would be a plain yes. But having seen what's the experience with unauthorized resellers like and taking into account that I never saw any badmouthing for HRK, I concluded into that response.
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I have used them but not being authorized seller of most games it should be noted that it's not 100% without some risk.Though unlike G2A this site sources all there keys so no third party sellers to deal with.
I have bought there bundles without issue.They seem to source keys from good sources just not in the way all might approve.Like not buying direct from the publisher but instead usually from sources that get the keys from the publisher.They also sometimes give keys as a photo which I assume means they buy retail copies in cheaper regions.
They do take a lot of payment forms including Paypal unlike the other sites that push the G2A stuff.In the end I would think they are not anymore risk then G2A but I would think they may be a bit safer due to no third party involved as they sell keys direct to you not relying on third parties.
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I would think they may be a bit safer due to no third party involved as they sell keys direct to you not relying on third parties.
G2A also has a storefront. It's not just a third-party marketplace.
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I don't see Room 404 on Steam. Removed or DRM-free only?
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It's a removed steam game!
Oooh, I could bump my removed games total by one. :-)
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They are legal. Grey market sourcing, but fully legal.
Don't confuse publisher licensing desires with legality.
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I guess I'm making the distinction between civil and criminal law. When I see the word "illegal", I think criminal law.
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Don't confuse unlicensed with illegal as well. if these licenses were obtained legally in the first place, publisher/developer rights to distribution end there, at least according to EU law (not sure about other countries). Once you purchase a software license, you are free to resell it.
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Gray market. Same cautions as with dealing with G2A (which they are affiliated with).
Most complaints about G2A involve the third-party marketplace and not the storefront. HRK is a storefront.
If you're dealing with a storefront, the protections you have are different.
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"prices" are always legal (if I want to sell my car for $1 for whatever reason, I can do it legally, except for some very specific cases) :P
Items are usually obtained from regions where they are sold cheaper, on a marketplace like G2A you can stumble upon stolen keys that might get revoked, but it is usually not the case with direct-selling sites as HRK.
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Legality isn't assured, because the games are being acquired from non-official sources. And no, prices are not always legal- putting aside theft and fraud, even just breech of sales contract can be a legal issue with selling a game that wasn't meant to be resold. While it's legal for us to receive the games, there's nothing preventing us from suffering a revocation, regardless of if that's due to the goods being illicitly obtained or just due to their being transferred despite agreements against such. Besides, what you can do legally isn't always the same as what a business can do legally, as they tend to have much stricter laws to deal with.
The most important thing to note, however, is that items which are not received directly by the publisher (ie, items not sold by an authorized retailer) are no longer covered by warranty.
In short, games obtained from these sites can generally be revoked even if they aren't stolen, and the publisher is under no obligation to fix any issues with the keys (even if it's just that they were defective from the start).
Think of it like how most modern sites ask you at check out 'do you want to add a warranty to this order?'- except in this case, there's a basic warranty that all respectable sites throw in for free, but which disreputable grey market sites don't include.
Put yet another way, you're not guaranteed an item on ebay will be entirely as you expect it. Ebay, however, is respectable (enough, at least) and so they'll handle the matter on their own. G2A sites are well reputed not to reliably engage in such (and to, unlike every respectable site ever, charge extra for the basic protections that are standard on each of those other sites).
Noone is indicating that HRK is known for key revocations- they're just noting that risks are in play for G2A-affiliated sites that aren't in play for any respectable site, and likewise that ethical considerations exist for the usage of such sites which also aren't typical concerns for respectable sites.
Besides, it's been heavily implied that HRK gathers a lot of their keys through G2A (or at least through G2A's resource network), so it may not be fair to consider HRK a 'direct-selling site' in the first place. :P
In the end, even if every other consideration isn't relevant to HRK, and if their primary source of their games is legal liquidated overstock of physical game copies, it's still important to remember that warranty doesn't apply to such items. So, in the end, a lot boils down to "How much do you trust this company to resolve issues?"
Perhaps even more than other poorly considered sites such as IndieGala and GMG (the latter of which has had its own revocations due to its use of unauthorized key sources), HRK and G2A are pretty notably not considered reliable sites to receive assistance through. How much of that is warranted, is impossible to tell- and thus, all that can be reported to others is the degree of concern by which the sites're viewed. Of course, the fact that such concern exists at all is already a notable mark against the sites, compared to more respectable ones- and thus that's the key bit of information that's being provided, here.
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...looks like some great deals if it's legit.
Many of these games have been bundled numerous times, so I don't see why the pricing is some kind of shock. Except for a few, they have all been devalued long ago.
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Yep, many of these were tier 1, and look like they restocked or bought at tremor and resell.. The only I find suprising is Street Fighter at 2.8€
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Buying from a site literally called 'hot random keys', which continually cash in on peoples gullibility while offloading all the garbage keys they accumulated from free giveaways or trash bundles. You can pretty much guarantee it's not going to be worth your time, heh.
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It's just that I suck, even more than usual, playing with a controller and that takes a big chunk of the fun out of playing. I'm also a wee bit too lazy to actually putting some effort in to getting better with controllers. If RDR is as good as people say it and I'm able to catch it at a decent sale I may swayed over though :)
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Well, I was totally gonna gift you some random Keys off the coast of Florida, but if you're gonna be like that, then I just won't. :|
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Anyone purchased something yet, do they add extra fees and stuff like G2A does?
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Yeah that's what I thought... thanks for the info, might look into this a bit further tomorrow.
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The fees might be cheaper now because they have two methods of using Paypal, directly and via G2Apay. Paypal via G2Apay imposes a higher fee than direct Paypal payment.
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The AC stuff is decent if you care about the series, and Lego stuff (including Force Awakens) is like 80%+ off. Fallout 3 may be in a GA soon.
But Witcher 2 for GOG at 70 cents? It was free. And Windows 10 OEM at $14.... scammy?
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It's not in the bargain sale, just through their regular storefront
https://www.hrkgame.com/games/product/windows-10-professional-oem-pc-cd-key/
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Registered 5 years ago.
51 comments posted.
Makes a thread with that title, and only a link in the body text, leading to a gray market site affiliated with G2A.
Yeah... no.
By all means feel free to take your chances people. You'll probably get your games as advertised (albeit perhaps with hidden charges or last-minute 'gotcha' things like the paypal fee or some iteration of the 'shield' system), but all I'll ask is that you be real careful. Remember you're buying from a group that literally named themselves after a sales gimmick that relies on gullibility and offloads keys harvested from free offers or bottom-tier bundles and resold separately. Just be careful and make sure you pay close attention to your receipts / bank statements / whatever, and maybe consider somehow supporting the dev in some capacity if you grab an indie title (especially from an upstart).
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I find it pretty funny you think I'm affiliated with HRK. Since you are curious, I happened to be on the site because I'd bought keys from their bundle and was trading one of them on Barter. I noticed the sale ad on the sides and clicked it. Then I searched SG's Deals section for HRK and found many posts, but none for this sale. So I figured the storefront was fine to post a deal for. As I was posting I noticed the site was a bit shady because of what deals they seemed to have, which is why I posted the poll option I did. The thread title was based on a previous HRK post I saw: https://www.steamgifts.com/discussion/rltAS/hrk-sale-shadow-of-mordor-goty-5-codbo2-7-csgo-8-civ-v-ce-8-etc
My experience with HRK was that I tried buying a bundle and couldn't checkout. I contacted support and they replied within a couple hours with some ideas. I realized it was one of my Firefox extensions and was able to checkout. So I was happy with their support and with their offerings. And this sale seemed pretty good even if they're grey market.
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I find it pretty funny you think I'm affiliated with HRK.
Keep in mind that dozens of individuals in the past used to promote G2A on SG (using the same canned rhetoric that G2A's staff themselves use publicly), and were then revealed to be working for G2A. There are currently still at least two individuals on SG (which I'm aware of) who are still actively promoting G2A, and have also been indicated to be working on behalf of the company.
It may not be nice to receive such accusations, but you'll understand why they come so quickly in relation to the sites in question.
In short, such accusations aren't meant to be against you specifically, but rather against G2A, who is responsible for developing such caution within us in the first place.
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Keep in mind that dozens of individuals in the past used to promote G2A on SG
Except that no one does that anymore and hasn't in a LONG time.
We had to pull teeth just to get someone to create a thread for the HRK Make Bundle.
No one is promoting HRK here anymore, and it's a miracle when I see the site mentioned.
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I find it kinda funny you don't see how someone could interpret it this way, given the body of the thread was just a link, and your forum activity is incredibly low. :P
I mean it's cool that you're keeping the community posted on deals and whatever, but it's a shady site and everything pointed towards you being an advertiser. Sites like HRK have frequent sales on top of their already steep discounts due to how they acquire their keys. Like I said, it's cool to alert to sales and everything but these sales are pretty much a constant and the the red flags are there, so I heard alarm bells.
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For free? That's impossible unless you put the gift in an orphan key thread. If you're using SG mechanics you're getting CV which at milestones highly increases your chances at winning games. That's not free. That's a trade.
And i see you're still 100% ignoring the rather popular trading section of this site to boot.
But the petty insults you include in your posts are beyond me. Instead of starting a discussion that could be entirely reasonable you open up with "if you disagree with me you're stupid". What are we, 3? C'mon. Put your big boy pants on and let's talk like adults. No need for that nonsense here.
EDIT: NP. I do well to fence off the toxic persons I meet in life.
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Trade section is not the part of Steamgifts, it's a separate site. And while I kinda get where you get the feelings, SG is still not in the same category as THE grey-market sites of Kinguin, G2A and the others. You don't have to pay a cent to get a game. You can sink thousands of dollars into the site and still not win the one you want. This has nothing to do with trading, neither purchasing any goods. As it was told so many times: if you want to level up to win a few specific games, you're far better off buying it during a sale. ( SG would be the shittiest store ever :) )
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Thank you for the actual mature discussion without the irrelevant name calling. You make some good points. But if you're narrowing down the gifting part of the website I suppose the real question is do you consider a gamble a trade? Because with how CV works and how its all based on chance, it really is all a gamble of luck.
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I would say it's closer to that, yes. In a way where gamble means hoping for the best / waiting for luck, not gambling away money.
I had the "luck" to win games I entered for the second time (FEAR 3 ) and ones that I still haven't won after 123 entries - and many levels)- later (Contrast) :)
Oh, and the definition of grey market you used, while is quite amiss on SG as market, it fully fits the unintended by the seller's part, HB even responded to some support tickets that they don't care about how trades and scams they end up in , because they sell it to X for X to use it, and should not be resold or given away.
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Well maybe its not as big of a things now but when i first joined SG i remember everyone was obsessed with accumulating CV because they wanted to be able to win games faster. There were threads about it every week and plenty of trains were stated that they were made just so the guy could get CV. That seems to me very much like a gamble where they were spending their money away. I mean for you and me that may not be why we giveaway, but plenty of others have and probably still do just to get CV.
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Where do you redeem the Minecraft one? Windows store?
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Thanks. Only my laptop is Windows 10 so still pondering it. My desktops are both Win7 and I missed the free upgrade last time.
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You can still upgrade using this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade?tduid=(14c348e893a91089cb2980533c6ee123)(256380)(2459594)(TnL5HPStwNw-0FBZfNm6YPFXNhiu3o52rA)()
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Thanks for the link. Not sure yet when I'll upgrade but this is helpful.
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OK I'm out of this place:
"Hi Hartmann,
Thank you for reaching out to HRK Game support.
We would like to inform you that your order has been temporarily put on hold and will require further verification. This precaution is to protect you and your HRK Game account, as security is our top priority.
To verify and proceed with completing your order, please upload a government-issued Photo ID (with only your name and photo visible) with today's date/time and hrkgame.com
written on a piece of paper on upload center:
Upload Documents Plese don't attach your images to this ticet/email. You have to upload your documents only from the link above.
Upon verification, your order will be automatically unblocked within 24 business hours. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the support center.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
HRK Game Customer Support"
Trying to buy a game and I get this? WTF do they think they are? I've never seen anything like this requested. Once I did send my ID to Facebook, I understand, but HRK asking for this? They didn't charge the order and I replied that I want to cancel it.
EDIT: Their reply: "We already cancelled your order. You may try through g2apay to avoid this kind of inconvenience. We apologize but we do this for your security, to prevent unauthorized transactions and other fraudulent activities. In some cases, our fraud prevention system decides to put an order on hold and verify your identity first, this happens to Paypal and credit card users. In such case, the system generates an automatic ticket for you to provide a proof of identification.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask us on our 24/7 live chat support. Thank you for choosing HRK. Have a nice day!"
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I bought Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition (2.15 EUR) and my bonus game is Gunnheim.
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I need to find a way to get some money for a gift card to use on this sale. I NEED Gauntlet. And a spare Lords of the Fallen for my friend.
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So, just to check here, I'm considering buying some stuff for GAs. Aside from shady "for your protection" feces, the keys would be expected to work, right?
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https://www.hrkgame.com/events/sale/bargain-sale/
Sale is over, but the prices still show in the store.
Lords of the Fallen Deluxe price lowered to $2 from $2.50.
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