How G2A became one of the top sponsors on YouTube and Twitch

“When I have a sponsor that is being accused and essentially proven of hurting developers; that contradicts what I believe in. It was very hard to walk away from G2A. They were easy to work with, paid me well for 10 five-second promotions a month, and removed a lot of financial concerns in my life. The deal allowed me to experiment more on my YouTube channel because I was receiving revenue from another source which was also quite liberating.”

- Streamer MrMattyPlays explaining why he won't do business with G2A anymore.

With all the recent developer frustration over key reseller G2A, it’s worth taking a step back and asking, how did this site become so popular to begin with?

While the company has made its name on hosting key resellers that sell games for far cheaper then their value on Steam, it’s also been engaged in heavy promotion with YouTube and Twitch streamers. Now, according to Kotaku’s Patrick Klepek, its growing negative reputation is making streamers second-guess their relationships with the company, often at a cost. 

Klepek’s story covers one of the sometimes under-discussed elements of G2A’s controversial business practices. Since the company has invested lots of its marketing resources on YouTube and Twitch personalities, (including YouTube's most popular gaming personality, PewDiePie), it's gained a set of spokespeople who lend it an air of authenticity that conflicts with developers’ frustrations with the company.  

In his reporting, Klepek says he’s spoken with multiple Twitch streamers and YouTube personalities, many of whom never wanted to do business with G2A, and some who only recently walked away from their deals. These deals are often very financially favorable to YouTubers, which has made cutting them off all the more difficult for those who can’t reconcile their discomfort with recent developer complaints. 

“We helped create a brand that gamers associate with cheap legitimate games,” says streamer Charlie Goldberg. “Too many of us are young and easily swayed by money. We don’t have managers or a team of people seeking out advertising deals. It’s just us.”

While developers over time have expressed frustration with those taking sponsorships with G2A, it’s worth reading Klepek’s full piece to see just how many of them grew to rely on the money in their own risky enterprise. 

For its part, G2A tells Kotaku that all of these concerns are simply “feedback that makes us stronger and better.”