To go one better, there's http://isthereanydeal.com/, which tracks prices across a bunch of vetted key retailers (i.e. companies that buy wholesale keys from publishers and sell them to users, but not grey-market or dodgy sites) so you can see where's cheapest and get notified of discounts etc.
Why check GreenManGaming and Steam (and potentially a bunch of their competitors, too) when you could check one site and know who's best?
I've accidentally made this read like an ad, but they've not paid me to say this, I just always check the site before buying games, and have either saved loads of money by doing so over the years, or have ended up buying a bunch of things I'd have ignored on the grounds they were too expensive otherwise. I don't know in which direction, but it's definitely changed the amount I've spent on games over the last ten years.
I second this recommendation. They "recently" updated their site, too, so it's got a lot of great filters and such. I'm always adding things to my steam wishlist (because friends use that) but http://isthereanydeal.com can sync up and notify you when games are 50%, 90%, or even 99% off!
Use code "AnyOldName3" to get your next game recommendation free.
Seriously though, there is no code, the service is free and I think it's mostly made by people addicted to being patient gamers. I blame it exclusively for me taking an unplayed backlog of like 2000 different steam games...
In addendum, they also operate a browser extension that puts the same pricing info directly into steam itself, as well as other enhancements:
Well worth having installed, that way you can browse steam (via your browser) as normal and know if a good deal is actually good.
On top of that they can import your wishlist from Steam. You can set a threshold / price on each game, and they will let you know anytime something is below that price.
For real, I've saved a countless amount of money on games by using this site for the last decade or so. If you're gaming on PC and you don't already use it (or something similar) then you're doing yourself (and your wallet) a massive disservice.
And if you don't mind grey-market and dodgy sites, there's allkeyshop which does pretty much the same but.
Sure thing I don't mind being an asshole by supporting people that actively harm the whole industry.
So to offer a reason "why" specifically for me it was because I have been hanging out with some game devs lately and they f****** hate steam, like it is the vein of their existence, so they showed me this one site and they were like this is the best one in our opinion, of course it's a little biased but I can see where they're coming from
Edit: chill out y'all I'm just relaying what I was told, I use steam too, but it also does have a huge grasp on the market and that makes it unfavorable for devs
The only game devs i know who hate steam are shovelware or low effort devs. Or i guess contrarians that just want attention.
I get it, steam takes a big cut. But you make more releasing on steam alone than every other site combined, by a lot. You get more audience, word of mouth, advertising, you get more api features, etc.
And i say this as a fan of GMG and GOG. I want them to be the top dogs, and i like posts that give them more attention.
just cause you recognize that you gotta use steam if you wanna make a living, doesn't mean you can't hate steam and wish they didn't have such a monopoly. lots of people use things they hate, just cause that's the meta, y'know?
But where are the actual good reasons for the hate?
"Ugh i have to use this genuinely good storefront if i want to be successful" is not a logical reason. Its not a monopoly. Consoles and mobile are still a thing afterall, even if we ignore all the pc stores and the fact that plenty of games do fine without steam, including indie.
s/vein/bane/
I was worried until I saw that giant Trustpilot banner. Any site that needs a giant Trustpilot banner sure makes me feel confident.
(I don't trust this site)
For what it's worth- I've used them plenty and it's always appeared to be legitimate. They don't "stock" every game out there, but they do have most things and they do usually end up being 3-5% cheaper than steam unless steam is having a sale.
I’ve used them for a while too. Sometimes they’ll have weird keys super cheap. Like I was able to grab Dark Souls 3 + both DLC’s for like $16 or something way back when.
i too am skeptical of sites that use trust pilot, but i have used greenmangaming before, they dont sell stolen keys or do other shady things AFAIK. It's a decent service.
Curious, what's wrong with TrustPilot?
you see a lot of scam websites use them because its easy to get away with fake reviews.
You have to pay them to get the banner... ie. an inherent conflict of interest.
I've purchased 7 games from them over the years, and my friends others. No issues. Started in 2014 with my last being in 2021.
GMG are legitimate.
It was legit the last time I bought a game from them, 10 years ago
GMG is legit, and I've started shifting a towards them every since Humble got bought by IGN. Fanatical too, although those mystery bundles are such a scam, haha.
To go one better, there's http://isthereanydeal.com/, which tracks prices across a bunch of vetted key retailers (i.e. companies that buy wholesale keys from publishers and sell them to users, but not grey-market or dodgy sites) so you can see where's cheapest and get notified of discounts etc.
Why check GreenManGaming and Steam (and potentially a bunch of their competitors, too) when you could check one site and know who's best?
I've accidentally made this read like an ad, but they've not paid me to say this, I just always check the site before buying games, and have either saved loads of money by doing so over the years, or have ended up buying a bunch of things I'd have ignored on the grounds they were too expensive otherwise. I don't know in which direction, but it's definitely changed the amount I've spent on games over the last ten years.
I second this recommendation. They "recently" updated their site, too, so it's got a lot of great filters and such. I'm always adding things to my steam wishlist (because friends use that) but http://isthereanydeal.com can sync up and notify you when games are 50%, 90%, or even 99% off!
Use code "AnyOldName3" to get your next game recommendation free.
Seriously though, there is no code, the service is free and I think it's mostly made by people addicted to being patient gamers. I blame it exclusively for me taking an unplayed backlog of like 2000 different steam games...
In addendum, they also operate a browser extension that puts the same pricing info directly into steam itself, as well as other enhancements:
https://augmentedsteam.com/
Well worth having installed, that way you can browse steam (via your browser) as normal and know if a good deal is actually good.
On top of that they can import your wishlist from Steam. You can set a threshold / price on each game, and they will let you know anytime something is below that price.
For real, I've saved a countless amount of money on games by using this site for the last decade or so. If you're gaming on PC and you don't already use it (or something similar) then you're doing yourself (and your wallet) a massive disservice.
And if you don't mind grey-market and dodgy sites, there's allkeyshop which does pretty much the same but.
Sure thing I don't mind being an asshole by supporting people that actively harm the whole industry.
So to offer a reason "why" specifically for me it was because I have been hanging out with some game devs lately and they f****** hate steam, like it is the vein of their existence, so they showed me this one site and they were like this is the best one in our opinion, of course it's a little biased but I can see where they're coming from
Edit: chill out y'all I'm just relaying what I was told, I use steam too, but it also does have a huge grasp on the market and that makes it unfavorable for devs
The only game devs i know who hate steam are shovelware or low effort devs. Or i guess contrarians that just want attention.
I get it, steam takes a big cut. But you make more releasing on steam alone than every other site combined, by a lot. You get more audience, word of mouth, advertising, you get more api features, etc.
And i say this as a fan of GMG and GOG. I want them to be the top dogs, and i like posts that give them more attention.
just cause you recognize that you gotta use steam if you wanna make a living, doesn't mean you can't hate steam and wish they didn't have such a monopoly. lots of people use things they hate, just cause that's the meta, y'know?
But where are the actual good reasons for the hate?
"Ugh i have to use this genuinely good storefront if i want to be successful" is not a logical reason. Its not a monopoly. Consoles and mobile are still a thing afterall, even if we ignore all the pc stores and the fact that plenty of games do fine without steam, including indie.
s/vein/bane/
I was worried until I saw that giant Trustpilot banner. Any site that needs a giant Trustpilot banner sure makes me feel confident.
(I don't trust this site)
For what it's worth- I've used them plenty and it's always appeared to be legitimate. They don't "stock" every game out there, but they do have most things and they do usually end up being 3-5% cheaper than steam unless steam is having a sale.
I’ve used them for a while too. Sometimes they’ll have weird keys super cheap. Like I was able to grab Dark Souls 3 + both DLC’s for like $16 or something way back when.
i too am skeptical of sites that use trust pilot, but i have used greenmangaming before, they dont sell stolen keys or do other shady things AFAIK. It's a decent service.
Curious, what's wrong with TrustPilot?
you see a lot of scam websites use them because its easy to get away with fake reviews.
It's basically this when you see that sticker.
You have to pay them to get the banner... ie. an inherent conflict of interest.
I've purchased 7 games from them over the years, and my friends others. No issues. Started in 2014 with my last being in 2021.
GMG are legitimate.
It was legit the last time I bought a game from them, 10 years ago
GMG is legit, and I've started shifting a towards them every since Humble got bought by IGN. Fanatical too, although those mystery bundles are such a scam, haha.
Love GMG