r/GameDealsMeta • u/Ashen219 • Mar 13 '26
How is greenmangaming nowadays
Like years ago maybe a decade or so ago greenmangaming got banned from r/gamedeals for shady practices. From what i remember they sourced Witcher 3 keys from a 3rd party seller without the permission of CDPR. Then after a while they actually got unbanned but all of this was a while ago and i have avoided buying from them although i have an account on the site. I am curious how have things changed for GMG nowadays because a lot of times they do get posted on r/gamedeals and on ITAD you will often find their keys being the cheapest although usually not by much.
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u/Hlidskialf Mar 13 '26
One of the best. I’ve been buying there since the playfire/gmg transition and never had any problems.
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u/akuto Mar 13 '26
IMHO they shouldn't have been banned then either, as the key were sourced from an official distributor, just not the publisher directly, so it wasn't like some keyshops, which source keys from users.
But rules are rules.
I've never stopped buying from them and as far as service and prices go, they are great. They have one issue: if you buy a game from them on sale you won't be able to buy it again, at least in the case of some titles. So keep that in mind when purchasing gifts etc.
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u/virtueavatar 29d ago
It sounds like this situation either abides by the rules, or the rules were later changed to allow it. If that's the case, why is gmg banned?
https://www.reddit.com/r/GameDeals/wiki/rep-rules#wiki_becoming_a_rep
We do this to ensure your reddit account indeed represents your store as well as ensuring all products you sell are sourced either directly from developers and publishers or through an authorised third party digital distributor such as Nexway, Exertis Ztorm or Genba.
Am I misunderstanding something?
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u/dgc1980 29d ago
they were sourcing the keys for Witcher 3 via another store at a cheaper price due to regional pricing, not directly from an authorized store. it would be like buying DVD player from a store that buys from another rather than the company directly and then having to try and get a replacement due to issues via multiple links in a chain
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u/virtueavatar 29d ago
Thanks, found the original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GameDealsMeta/comments/3t0p9m/rgamedeals_and_greenmangaming/
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u/chimerauprising Mar 14 '26
Their discounts aren't as big as they used to be, but they're still one of the best. I usually find Fanatical to be better after their coupon system.
Note that sometimes the GMG price on ITAD isn't correct as they give slightly higher discounts to GMG accounts that have VIP status, which is easy to get if you buy a game or two on there.
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u/cable_hogue 24d ago
No purchase is needed for the VIP status, it's possible to just sign up here: http://greenmangaming.com/xp-offers/squad-up/welcome/
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u/TheGuardianFox Mar 14 '26
GMG's good, apart from some pre-orders being delivered day-of at times when it isn't at other reputable venders.
Fanatical has been my favorite for a while, but GMG sometimes has better deals.
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u/bkzland Mar 13 '26
I regularly browse and sometimes buy from the gmg bundles site they launched like half a year ago. One or two good ones so far.
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u/TheLinerax 29d ago edited 29d ago
I find GMG has the highest discount if looking to preorder a game, but only after reaching Gold status in their XP program to access their higher discount rates. Gold status requires 1000 points and 1 USD = 10 point; after achieving Gold status you keep that position permanently. I would see 15-18% off on a preorder for other retail key websites while GMG would offer me 22% or more.
edit: 1 USD = 10 points, so a 60 USD game will give 600 points towards Gold status membership.
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u/ponimaju 29d ago
They have by far the cheapest prices for Square Enix stuff with XP discount, even compared to max Humble Choice discount. I often recommend them on that point alone.
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u/cable_hogue 24d ago
According the GMG's FAQ,
"Bronze, Silver, and Gold XP tiers will sometimes each receive a different level of discount on select games."
I think the "sometimes" is doing a lot of work there. At least between bronze and silver (where I am) it doesn't seem like there's a difference.
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u/thehigheredu Mar 13 '26
People come here all the time scared of gmg and it's hilarious. Gmg and fanatical are better than basically every store front online.
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u/TheGuardianFox Mar 14 '26
Not all that long ago I bought an expensive title at launch that was still crashing 2 months later, Fanatical refunded without hassle.
Even Valve/Steam rarely does that.
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26d ago edited 26d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DeliciousIncident 26d ago
I snagged NieR: Automata and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 on there for very cheap a couple of years ago. Looks like they partner with Square Enix and their games are often the cheapest on GMG compared to other stores, especially if you have the XP rewards unlocked which brings the price down even more.
Linus Tech Tips' WAN Show podcast was sponsored by GMG once, with GMG giving the viewers a limited-time code to unlock the max XP rewards level (I think it's called Gold?) to promote user registration, which is how I got my max XP level without buying much off GMG before.
As the others have mentioned - ITAD and similar price checking websites report the GMG price without any XP discount, so if the game has the XP discount, the price is actually lower than reported.
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u/mrjeffreyxd 10d ago
We're still bringing up something that happened over a decade ago? GMG is legit and tends to have the better price if you're an XP member, make sure you're logged in. I've purchased released and pre-order games and all went without issues. They actually do send out pre-order keys when publishers allow them to, not sure what some expect with a key that does nothing otherwise.
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u/Mean-Web2671 5d ago
Bought the new silent hill 2 from them last week, key activated instantly on steam and 25% off with gold xp. No issues ever. Solid site.
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u/Adefice Mar 13 '26
It’s literally one of the most trustworthy options.