this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2026
421 points (97.1% liked)
Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ
70161 readers
1042 users here now
⚓ Dedicated to the discussion of digital piracy, including ethical problems and legal advancements.
Rules • Full Version
1. Posts must be related to the discussion of digital piracy
2. Don't request invites, trade, sell, or self-promote
3. Don't request or link to specific pirated titles, including DMs
4. Don't submit low-quality posts, be entitled, or harass others
Loot, Pillage, & Plunder
We heartily recommend visiting the free port of freemediaheckyeah (aka FMHY) while you sail the high seas, for all the freshest links the ocean has to offer.
📜 c/Piracy Wiki (Community Edition):
🏴☠️ Other communities
FUCK ADOBE!
Torrenting/P2P:
- !seedboxes@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !trackers@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !qbittorrent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !libretorrent@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !soulseek@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Gaming:
- !steamdeckpirates@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !newyuzupiracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !switchpirates@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !3dspiracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !retropirates@lemmy.dbzer0.com
💰 Please help cover server costs.
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Ko-fi | Liberapay |
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Yeah, I've never bought this. "oh no, someone redeemed a code we gave away/already sold"
So if a person who received a key sells it to someone who might have bought it from the official channels then the devs do not receive that money but the so called “content creator” gets it. The content creator was supposed to make a video or whatever of the game in exchange for the key. It’s also a breach of trust. Basically “content creator” begs for a key and says it’s for video or a stream, but then sells it is just a dick move.
The devs can easily revoke the keys and burn the content creator, they're choosing to be victims here.
This right here is why I never believed the claims either.
I get the claim of they buy the key in lesser off regions for cheaper to sell at a higher price but, steam dashboard allows you to individually disable keys for any reason you like. I wouldn't imagine anyone actually daring to try to resell those(review keys), they would be blacklisting themselves from the industry.
There's the argument that the publisher/dev might be new to it and didn't log who got what key but, I wouldn't bet access to games on that.
It was a gift, no?
Who are you to tell me what to do with a gift. Its mine after you give it.
Software industry understands neither property nor consent.
Okay but then you are still a liar if you pretend to be a content creator so you can source free keys to flip. Why is a dev not allowed to be upset when they got duped by a liar?
I think that's stretching the definition of "gift" a bit far, no? A gift doesn't come with strings attached (even if unenforceable).
If these streamers aren't being contracted, then it is basically the same as a gift. Selling the key is still perhaps morally dubious if there was an expectation of promotion, but that's as far as it goes.
If your justification is "it's not a crime" you're well aware it should be.
My justification for what exactly? I wasn't justifying anything.
And what do you believe should be a crime? Giving out free keys, or selling keys that you got for free?
If theres no formal agreement and no contract between the dev and the recipient of the key, where/what is the crime??
Selling keys you were gifted to play in order to raise the games profile. See your previous comment if you're still confused as to what's being talked about.
As I literally just said, if your justification is that it isn't a crime, you already know it should be. Seeing as you seem genuinely confused, verbal contracts and agreements in writing (e.g email exchanges) are still contracts, even if not formal.