Steam, Epic, GOG. When a key is really a key, and when it's just a login

Last week a friend asked me why his cheap "Epic version" of Alien Isolation didn't show up in his Epic library, and instead he had to launch it through Heroic Games Launcher with some weird account. While explaining the situation, I realized this deserves its own post, because the problem probably hits thousands of people.

Key marketplaces tend to say "digital key" generically, but that phrase covers several different things. Picking the wrong category ends with a game you don't technically own, even if you've played it.

Steam: a key is a contract with Valve

Easiest case. The developer registers the game in Steamworks, generates a pool of activation keys, sells them to distributors or uses them in promos. A key entered into Steam adds the game to your library permanently (with Valve's terms and right of revocation, which I covered in another post on security).

Pro: the game is yours. Steam could collapse, Valve could disappear, in theory you'd have a problem then, but in practice the last 20 years prove this is the safest form of digital game ownership we have.

Con: only Steam can issue Steam keys. Every cheap Steam key you see on the secondary market passed through someone's account at some point. That's not a problem in itself, as long as the supplier was honest.

Epic Games Store: a format mess

Epic is a different beast. The store launched in late 2018, and Tim Sweeney has been chasing Steam with free games and exclusives ever since. Result: Epic controls key distribution much more tightly than Valve.

On the market you'll find three different things labeled "Epic key":

1. An actual Epic activation key. You type it into Epic Launcher, the game lands on your account. Rare. Most Epic games can't be sold this way, because Epic only generates keys for selected titles and promotions.

2. An Epic gift link. The seller gives you a link, you click, the game gets added to your Epic account as a gift. Works, but has catches: you need to have the seller as an Epic friend for at least 48 hours, or the "gift" doesn't activate. In practice, many stores send links that don't work because they didn't go through the system properly.

3. A login to an account with the game already activated. You buy access to someone else's account with the game already on it. This isn't your copy, it's temporary access. The seller can change the password anytime and you lose access. Epic accounts sometimes get banned when Epic detects logins from different countries.

Practical advice: on Epic, only buy games clearly labeled "Epic Games Store CD-Key" or "Direct activation key", never "Account" or "Login".

GOG: cleanest case, narrowest catalog

GOG (Good Old Games) runs on a completely different philosophy. No DRM, keys always work (because they don't need online validation), once a game is downloaded the installer stays on your drive and you can run it 30 years later without any account.

That sounds good and it is, but GOG has a much smaller catalog than Steam or Epic. Many AAA from the last 5 years don't exist there, because publishers want DRM. The games that are there are often remasters and smaller titles from developers who appreciate GOG's philosophy.

GOG keys on marketplaces are safer than Steam in one way: even if the key turns out to be a plain string from a bundle the seller shouldn't have split, GOG never revokes an activated game. Their terms don't include "obtained illegitimately", because the platform is built around trusting the buyer.

Con: catalog. EEneba lists 4 thousand Steam titles and 800 GOG. Often the game you want simply isn't available in a GOG edition, because the publisher chose not to put it there.

What about Ubisoft Connect, EA, Battle.net?

Three different ecosystems, three different situations.

Ubisoft Connect. Keys work similarly to Steam. You enter them in the app, the game adds to your library. Marketplaces have plenty, because Ubisoft sells retail copies with separate keys. Regional risk similar to Steam.

EA App. EA has been cutting back on individual keys for years and pushing sales through its own store and EA Play subscription. The keys on the market are mostly old stock from retail packs before 2022. They work, but for new EA games, third-party keys are practically nonexistent.

Battle.net. Blizzard killed CD keys a few years back. Anything labeled "Battle.net key" on the market is either a gift card (regional, theoretically safe) or a game on someone's account (avoid). For Diablo IV or Overwatch 2, third-party keys basically don't exist.

Three final rules

Collected over years of buying and friends' mistakes.

First, read what platform you're activating on. This is the one piece of information you can't skim. A seller who doesn't clearly say "Steam Key" but writes "Digital Key" is hiding something.

Second, don't assume a cheap game on Epic is the same game as on Steam. Sometimes yes, sometimes it's a version from two patches ago without DLC, because Epic got a different edition. Check the edition and last update date in the description.

Third, GOG is your friend for the long term. Every Steam key that one day loses support, GOG will leave running. For me personally that's a deciding factor for buying classics I want to come back to in 10 years.

Price is an important criterion. Platform is more important. Better to pay 25 USD for a guaranteed Steam key than 12 for "access to an Alien account" you'll lose mid-game.

What about smaller launchers

There's a group of platforms I didn't cover above, worth knowing.

Rockstar Games Launcher. GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Max Payne 3 keys sometimes show up on marketplaces. Rockstar holds its own keys, separate from Steam. You activate in the Rockstar app and the game lands on their account. Generally safe, but regional risk is higher than Steam because Rockstar aggressively flags activations from unexpected countries.

Bethesda Net (basically dead). Bethesda killed its own launcher in 2022 and moved everything to Steam. "Bethesda" keys still floating around are leftover stock from retail packs. They still work, but for new purchases this is a dead ecosystem.

Origin / EA App / a specific kind of chaos. EA moved from Origin to EA App to EA on Steam and back to EA App. Old EA game keys from Origin days sometimes won't activate in EA App. Before buying an old EA game as a key, check the forums for whether the current app version supports it.

Riot Client. League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics. CD keys in the classical sense don't exist here. Third-party stores only sell Riot Points cards and Valorant Points cards. Safe, but mostly regional.

Subscriptions vs keys: when Game Pass wins

One last thing worth calculating. Game Pass Ultimate currently costs 17 USD a month and gives access to about 400 games. If you play 4 games a year from the Game Pass library, the subscription costs you 200 USD a year, averaging 50 USD per game. That's often less than a marketplace key.

But Game Pass has a catch: you don't own those games. Microsoft removes titles every month, sometimes mid-playthrough. A Steam key, once activated, is yours practically forever. A game on Game Pass disappears when Microsoft's deal with the publisher expires.

My personal rule: games I want to finish once and forget, I take from Game Pass. Games I'll return to (Souls games, Stellaris, BG3) I buy outright, ideally on GOG for maximum longevity or Steam for convenience. Mixing both strategies gives roughly 40 percent savings versus buying everything outright.