Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
CD Projekt Warns Against Purchasing The Witcher 3 Keys From Green Man Gaming
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developers CD Projekt RED have asked gamers not to buy pre-purchase PC codes for the game from online seller Green Man Gaming (GMG). The codes for the game on the site were sold at a 35 percent discount before being brought back up to $59.99. Despite the short-lived discount, however, there are other issues between the two companies.
In a post on the CD Projekt RED forums, Rafał Jaki, the company's business development manager, asked fans not to buy the codes from GMG. The discount itself, however, wasn't the crux of the problem. He also stated, "We had not sold them keys and don't know the origin of them."
In response, Paul Sulyok, CEO of GMG, told GameSpot that GMG and CD Projekt RED were in discussions for six months for GMG and other sites to sell The Witcher 3 digitally, but ultimately Sulyok says CD Projekt declined the offers and decided to support its own digital platform: GOG.com.
If CD Projekt did not sell the keys to GMG, it's unknown how exactly GMG got their codes. We reached out to GMG for clarification, but the statement it provided did not address the matter. Suyok told GameSpot that GMG got the codes from a CD Projekt-approved third party.
Sulyok did say, however, that the discounted price was part of a promotion, and that GMG was planning to "reinvigorate the offer in the run up to launch." Currently, both Steam and, of course, GOG.com are selling the game for $54.99 at 10 percent off.
Jaki says that the two companies had worked together in the past for The Witcher 2, and at the time GMG was a "legit partner," but Jaki doesn't know exactly how GMG got the codes.
"We control all digital and the codes, and because we decided not to sell Keys to GMG, it came as a surprise that they are doing a special promo without buying keys from us. We have reached out to ask for the source of they keys, but up until now there was no response. They might sell nVidia keys (which are not to be sold but gifted with the nVidia promo), or they just bough keys from GOG just like a regular customer, and now they resell them with a loss (we cannot prevent anyone from selling something)."
Jaki acknowledges that the codes could work, but the two sides dispute whether or not CD Projekt is getting revenue from GMG's sale of the keys.
We have contacted representatives for CD Projekt for comment on the matter, and will update this story if we hear back.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt comes out for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 19.
Our Take
Apart from the usual buyer-beware warning for deals that seem too good to be true, there are other issues at hand that may sway your decision to buy or not buy keys from code resellers. While resellers may create a marketplace environment whereby consumers can benefit from competition between multiple sellers, CD Projekt's claim that they as the developers aren't being paid as a result of non-authorized sales is piracy.
At the moment, at least CD Projekt says the codes could work and is not de-activating them, as Ubisoft did in the case of Far Cry 4.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
