Official Stores vs Keyshops

The short version

Buying a brand-new game you cannot wait to play, and you want zero hassle? An official store is the safe pick. Chasing a deal on something a bit older, or shopping during a sale? A well-rated keyshop will usually save you real money. Everything below is just the detail behind that.

Official stores

Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, PlayStation Store, Xbox, Nintendo eShop, the EA app and Ubisoft Connect. You buy straight from the source.

What you get: keys are always legit, you have full publisher support and refunds (Steam's two-hour, 14-day window is the usual example), automatic updates and cloud saves, and you never have to think about region locks.

The catch: you pay for that comfort. Prices are higher and the big discounts mostly show up during seasonal sales. You are also locked to the platform, so a Steam copy stays on Steam.

Keyshops

Third-party marketplaces where sellers list keys, usually a good bit cheaper. We break down how they work in our keyshops guide.

What you get: lower prices, often by a lot. Deals show up all the time, not just twice a year, and you can find keys from different regions.

The catch: sellers vary, so reliability comes down to picking a good one. There is a small chance of a revoked key or a region lock, and if something goes wrong you deal with the store rather than the publisher.

So which should you actually pick?

Here is how we would call it:

• Day-one AAA you are hyped for: buy official, or grab it from a keyshop with a strong rating if the saving is worth it to you.
• Older games, or during a sale: a reputable keyshop, almost every time.
• You just want it to work with no thinking: official store.
• You are watching your budget: keyshop, but check the store's rating and reviews first.

Whichever way you go, the store rating is the thing to look at. We show real buyer scores for every shop we list, so you are never buying blind.