Reboot Develop panel does the company no favors
Buckle up, kids, because this story is a doozy. Over at the Reboot Develop Conference in Croatia today, one of the representatives of G2A held a panel to discuss the recent backlash the oft-scrutinized game key reseller has been receiving. Senior Account Manager of G2A, Mario Mirek, did his best to defend the company’s business practices amidst a crowd of displeased developers who were looking for answers. That just sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it somehow gets worse.
To start, Mirek insisted that G2A does not operate as a “gray market.” According to him, all the business they do is legitimate. Mirek was also surprised Gearbox ended its business deal with G2A and assumed the reasoning was because of TotalBiscuit and not its “shady” business dealings. This still does nothing to address why G2A is refusing to make the changes Gearbox issued, but that is another story.
In response to a question on why the company has taken so long to alter its policies, Mirek bafflingly commented that 40 percent of G2A’s workforce was female.
Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell was in attendance and tweeted out some reactions to the whole panel. He also took to the mic to ask about G2A’s “Shield” program and why the company is receiving more money on each purchase.
Dunno if mic is picking up the heckles and giggles, but it’s a fun room
— Mike Bithell (@mikeBithell) April 20, 2017
Oh my, the room is very much not with this guy
— Mike Bithell (@mikeBithell) April 20, 2017
[Video courtesy of Eurogamer]
After this entire disastrous panel, G2A still couldn’t remain silent on the matter. It issued a statement to try and clear the air and further justify its business. The entire speech can be found over on Eurogamer’s site, but I’ll pick the best quote to sum it up.
G2A’s head of PR, Maciej Kuc, claims, “Those who want to stop [key reselling] act against free market and property rights that are essential to modern economy. If something is to be called grey or shady, these are the practices of making ‘suggestions’ aimed at hurting legally operating marketplace. If you call G2A grey, try doing the same with respect to eBay, Amazon and basically all the marketplaces – it is obvious that today we are simply a part of normal, legal market.”
G2A rep roasted by developers during live Q&A [Eurogamer]
