As far as I know if steam tells you " you already own this game" then the key is valid, but if it says " the key has already been used" well it's not
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Yeah, that'd be a different error, something like 'duplicate key' or something. Thanks for answering the question as well. :)
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Product already owned message is a higher priority than duplicate product code. Even if a code is used Steam will still tell you yu already own it.
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is that so? Well, in that case I withdraw my comment..
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Can you just elaborate? I am a bit confused. Isn't 'product owned' and 'duplicate key' one and the same?
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The only time it will say duplicate code, is if you DO NOT have the game in your library and the key was activated by someone else previously. Otherwise if you already have the game in your library and the key has already been used, it will only say that you already own the game, it will not tell you the duplicate error.
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Now, that brings up a new question.
If I own 'XYZ', I get a key for 'XYZ' and I try to activate it. I would get the 'you already own' error, but I would not know if its duplicate, right?
Or is this what flagrantnutwaffle is trying to explain? So I cannot be sure that its valid because of the 'already owned' message?
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Well I read it again and now I see what the first sentence was supposed to mean. :P Thanks
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yes, I just tried it and unfortunately you can actually not know if it is valid or not.
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Well, it was for me. I never thought of that angle on it. I was stuck on 'already owned' and key becoming invalid.
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it's always nice to make a stranger giggle without even tickling!
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Nope, you could have bought two keys and forget which one you used and which one is still "giftable".
No matter if you'll use "used" or "not used" key, Steam will only say "product owned, wanna install?".
Unless second key comes with some additional DLCs or something like that...
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There are basically four possible outcomes when trying to activate a key - Product Successfully Activated,Duplicate Product Code, Invalid Code and Product Already Owned.
If you don't own game XYZ and try to activate a key for it you'll get PSA if the key is valid and unused, DPC if the key is valid but used (though this doesn't mean it was for the right game) or IC if the key is incorect.
If you do own game XYZ and try to activate a key for it you'll either get PAO or IC. In this case PAO is a higher priority than DPC and even if the code has already been redeemed it'll still give you the PAO notification.
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but afaik if you don't already have the base game, steam notifies you to redeem the base game first or something like that. this is not covered in that comment. :/
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I haven't tested that and it would be rather awkward to do so but if you don't own base game you'll either be notified to activate the base game or get an invalid code notification. I'd guess in this case the base game not owned would work the same as already owning a game and cover both used and unused keys.
If you do own the base game then it's exactly the same as trying to activate a game you own, either success, already owned or invalid.
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tried -again- just for you guys.
Please first activate the original game
The product code you've entered requires ownership of another product before activation.
If you are trying to activate an expansion pack or downloadable content, please first activate the original game, then activate this additional content.
See the Steam support site for more information
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You will receive "You already own this game" whether the key is
validused or not.
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I see what you mean, I thought it was a vendetta against the word valid which is why I used it again.
To be fair, I hope most people have the intelligence to grasp what I was saying. Especially considering that if it's "invalid", it's a completely different message.
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why would someone have a vendetta against a word? lol.
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As others may have said. The key will not be activated if you already own the game. There are exceptions to this rule though. Certain keys that contain like a GOTY version or a bundle of dlc with a game may still activate if you just have the base game in your library.
But in most instances if the key you are trying to activate is just the base game against the base game you already have, it will just say you already have the game and you will then be able to give it away or trade it, since it never activated.
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It will say "blah blah blah game did not activate as you have already activated it on another account to recover that account click here".
Steam then Emails the linked email address of that account recovery link ect.
If the key is a valid on but already in use.
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All things said. If the Trade is legit, which there is no reason to think otherwise, the key will still be valid if you already own the game. It will say you do. It will not use the key.
The other comments in here are just fear mongers, yet for a good reason, yet also just causing fear. If it happens that the key is not good, then that is different discussion, and requires course of action not even talked about. So it is not an issue.
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Consider the scenario where I own a game 'XYZ'. If someone from here wants to trade 'key' for 'XYZ' game, then even if they go first, I cannot know if the key is valid without checking it first.
If I dont own the game, then I can put it in to see if it activates, if it does then the trade would go fine. But in thise case, since I have 'XYZ' already, Steam would show me a message that I already own the game.
Will the key that I just entered be 'activateable' after this? Or does Steam make it activated since keys are not meant to be shared?
Because if it is not activateable after that, then the point of me trading for the key is nullified.
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