[99%]

I got this reply from Steam CS about why I haven't been able to activate a game I bought 3 weeks ago.

What is this fud? Is this even legal? I asked for a refund but no word on that.



There should be an option to cancel a purchase if this is the case, thats how Amazon works if something has a delay etc.

My Steam Library is pretty big, I dunno why I get a shitty automated response.

[Mama Robotnik]

What game was it?

[SalsaShark]

Not their fault, the publisher sometimes runs out of keys. You'll get one as soon as they get more. It rarely happens.

[Dragonzord]

Man, if this was Origin or Impulse....

[Chittagong]

3 weeks and no game, no reply? Lol, you've been punked mate

[LuffyZoro]

It's happened before, you'll just have to wait a while before you can activate it.

[Solstice]

They will refund you. Sometimes people just buy so many of a certain game at once that they run out of keys. Sucks, but it's not like there's a physical line of people that they can say "hey, we just sold our last copy" to.

[rouken]

is the game worth it? if not, refund.

[Seik]

I'm mindblown that they actually manage to run out of CD-Keys when its all digital, correct me if I'm wrong but...isn't that supposed to be easy to generate?

I mean...3 week?...o_o

[SalsaShark]

3 weeks does seem like a whole lot, never saw any case where it took that long. Contact them over at Steam Support and when they respond they'll give you a refund for sure.

[99%]

I sent 2 tickets already Salsa. It's very strange since I had nothing but great support from Steam CS so far and been a member since HL2 launched.

Man, if this was Origin or Impulse....

50 page thread. But then again what could origin have that would run out of keys? :P

[Blizzard]

They sometimes run out of CD keys during sales if the publisher did not supply enough, but I've never heard of that lasting more then maybe 3-4 days. That's extraordinarily strange. What game was it?

And did you wait 3 weeks to contact support?

[R1CHO]

Not their fault, the publisher sometimes runs out of keys. You'll get one as soon as they get more. It rarely happens.

Yes, their fault. They should stop selling it before running out, not after.

[Psi]

Not their fault, the publisher sometimes runs out of keys. You'll get one as soon as they get more. It rarely happens.

Of course it's their fault. They're selling something they don't have without telling someone that.

[Neuromancer]

Was it Prey by any chance?

[mik83kuu]

Very unfortunat, but it's Steam so I won't get angry or offer you anything other than a shrug.

[speedpop]

It happened with me when I started to play GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City. Had bought the game months prior, but when it came time to download and install it there weren't any CD keys. All I did was email Valve and let them know, then the next morning I could install it hassle free.

[SalsaShark]

Yes, their fault. They should stop selling it before running out, not after.

Of course it's their fault. They're selling something they don't have without telling someone that.

It ussually happens during sales and periods where there's a ton of shit going on to handle.

They should however build some sort of automated response when this happens asking you if you still want to go through with it. Still, it is ussually no more than a couple hours or 1 day tops of waiting..

Was refering to that it wasnt their fault to run out of keys..

[jvm]

Yes, their fault. They should stop selling it before running out, not after.

*ding* Right answer.

It ussually happens during sales and periods where there's a ton of shit going on to handle.

We're talking about computers, not clerks in a physical store. This shouldn't ever happen.

[Blizzard]

Of course it's their fault. They're selling something they don't have without telling someone that.

And I think in some cases they have done exactly that, which is ideal to me -- they keep the sale price up, but put a warning sign on the store page saying "Hey, we don't have keys left for this specific game, but you'll get them as soon as the publisher/dev sends us some more."

I'd rather be able to buy a game at a great sale price and wait a week, then not get the sale price at all.

[1-D_FTW]

I sent 2 tickets already Salsa. It's very strange since I had nothing but great support from Steam CS so far and been a member since HL2 launched. 50 page thread. But then again what could origin have that would run out of keys? :P

So you'll reply to that but not to the simple question of what game was it?

[Kade]

Was it Prey by any chance?

You can't get Prey on Steam anymore. The publishers ran out of keys and didn't bother generating more.

[sazzy]

Other than the fact that steam has a lot of games, I reallly hate it.

The application is poor, the ui is crap, its buggier than an ant hill, and the support is laughable, if you can even call it support.

It's weird how blinded people are by fan service to valve.

[Rapstah]

What game was it and is it still available? In earlier cases, games have actually been made unbuyable after they run out of keys, but I think it's a manual switch so a couple of hundred buyers are going to get through before they can disable it.

[Neuromancer]

So you'll reply to that but not to the simple question of what game was it?

Maybe it was Duke Nukem Forever and he's embarrassed.

[MRORANGE]

What game is it?

[99%]

It's Company of Heroes btw.

They sometimes run out of CD keys during sales if the publisher did not supply enough, but I've never heard of that lasting more then maybe 3-4 days. That's extraordinarily strange. What game was it? And did you wait 3 weeks to contact support?

I didn't wait 3 weeks, maybe 2. I don't know how they can still be out of keys.

[SalsaShark]

I sent 2 tickets already Salsa. It's very strange since I had nothing but great support from Steam CS so far and been a member since HL2 launched.

Mh, fishy. Check the steam forums to see if there's people with the same issue, maybe they're getting flooded or something..

[jakershaker]

Did you try to install it 3 weeks ago or did you buy it 3 weeks ago and try to install it now?

[Vaporak]

I'm mindblown that they actually manage to run out of CD-Keys when its all digital, correct me if I'm wrong but...isn't that supposed to be easy to generate? I mean...3 week?...o_o

They are easy to generate, but it's illegal for Valve to generate them if they even had the algorithm.

[Kade]

Other than the fact that steam has a lot of games, I reallly hate it. The application is poor, the ui is crap, its buggier than an ant hill, and the support is laughable, if you can even call it support. It's weird how blinded people are by fan service to valve.

Or blinded by the convenience, sales, social integration, etc.

[Lord British]

Company of Heroes Steam codes were recently a free giveaway with UK PC Gamer magazine. Perhaps it has something to do with that?

[SalsaShark]

We're talking about computers, not clerks in a physical store. This shouldn't ever happen.

I dont disagree, but we barely know how it works. There's a ton of security stuff to keep in mind and whatnot.

Im not trying to defend this and saying that it is ok for it to happen, im just saying it rarely does and that it never happened for this long for sure. Maybe something like this will make them focus on that issue for a while..

[Drkirby]

Yes, their fault. They should stop selling it before running out, not after.

Then that will make it so if you want to buy the game at that price, you couldn't.

The best thing to do would be to put a warning message on the store page along the lines of "We have run out of keys for this game, and may not be able to play it for several days after purchase, do you wish to continue?"

We're talking about computers, not clerks in a physical store. This shouldn't ever happen.

This is an issue with publishers though, and Valve still gives (Or at least gave) publishers the freedom to require a CD key and only have a finite amount available to Valve to give out at any one time. Has any recently released game had this issue, I am wondering if Valve may have stopped letting publishers do that at a certain point, like they did with out of steam DLC.

[HoosTrax]

Oh Company of Heroes again. That's what, the second time Relic ran out of keys due to a Steam sale? Happened in September 2011 when they put it on 80% discount.

[herod]

Classic steam

[Htown]

Happens every once in a while with games that require CD keys. When the publisher sends more, you'll get one.

There are only two choices when a CD key game gets super popular during a sale:
1. Stop selling the game when the keys run out, at which point people get angry because they miss out on the price and you're not supposed to run out of digital things.
2. Keep selling the game when the keys run out, at which point people get angry because the store already took the money and you're not supposed to run out of digital things.

Valve decided to go ahead and let people get the game for the low price, and catch up on the CD keys later when the publisher sends them in.

Of course, the best solution would be for the games not to use CD keys at all, but that decision is up to the developer/publisher.

[SalsaShark]

Then that will make it so if you want to buy the game at that price, you couldn't. The best thing to do would be to put a warning message on the store page along the lines of "We have run out of keys for this game, and may not be able to play it for several days after purchase, do you wish to continue?"

yup

[Blizzard]

It's Company of Heroes btw. I didn't wait 3 weeks, maybe 2. I don't know how they can still be out of keys.

I'm sorry you're dealing with it, it's very unusual. What you posted looked like an automated response. If you reply to the Steam support ticket explaining that you purchased it 3 weeks ago, and/or requesting a refund, either one should be taken care of. Steam support has always taken care of stuff for me within a couple of days as far as I recall.

Then that will make it so if you want to buy the game at that price, you couldn't. The best thing to do would be to put a warning message on the store page along the lines of "We have run out of keys for this game, and may not be able to play it for several days after purchase, do you wish to continue?"

Hasn't Valve done precisely this thing during a previous sale? I don't have a screenshot unfortunately. :(

[Alex]

It happens across all the services, it's not something that's a problem specific to Steam. They only provide so many keys and sometimes demand just very shockingly outstrips supply.

Still sucks ass though, and yes, it'd be blown SKY HIGH if it wasn't Steam. :lol

[jakershaker]

Then that will make it so if you want to buy the game at that price, you couldn't. The best thing to do would be to put a warning message on the store page along the lines of "We have run out of keys for this game, and may not be able to play it for several days after purchase, do you wish to continue?"

That would be great and yes, everyone would continue.

[Rapstah]

Oh Company of Heroes again. That's what, the second time Relic ran out of keys due to a Steam sale? Happened in September 2011 when they put it on 80% discount.

CoH also has one of the messiest situations of two layers of DRM on Steam. Relic Online, if they're still using that, which they were very recently, hard locked me out of my CoH games for a year despite my having entered the keys because it wanted me to insert a disc for copy protection. The patching is a mess too.

[Stumpokapow]

Possibility 1: Steam stops selling games when they run out of keys
+ No one pays and has to wait to get their key (rare)
- People miss out on sales, get frustrated (common)

Possibility 2: Steam sells games and immediately tries to secure more keys
+ People get to secure sale prices (common)
- Sometimes people need to wait for keys (rare) and sometimes that wait is truly unacceptable (very rare)

I think Valve has probably looked at their purchase trends, and when something spikes 10,000-fold during a sale, they realize it's more important to customers for them to effectively support sales. Especially since most times the key exhaustion occurs, it is resolved the same day or first thing the next day.

The real issue here is 3rd-party DRM.

The best thing to do would be to put a warning message on the store page along the lines of "We have run out of keys for this game, and may not be able to play it for several days after purchase, do you wish to continue?"

This is strictly an improvement to what they have now, so I agree.

[99%]

Tbh the games was dirt cheap, but you know it's the principle of the matter.

Did you try to install it 3 weeks ago or did you buy it 3 weeks ago and try to install it now?

Bought and installed it 3 weeks ago.

The real issue here is 3rd-party DRM.

I think this might be it to be honest, I NEVER had any trouble playing a game from Steam before this.

CoH also has one of the messiest situations of two layers of DRM on Steam. Relic Online, if they're still using that, which they were very recently, hard locked me out of my CoH games for a year despite my having entered the keys because it wanted me to insert a disc for copy protection. The patching is a mess too.

Is this only COH or all THQ games?

[1-D_FTW]

Company of Heroes Steam codes were recently a free giveaway with UK PC Gamer magazine. Perhaps it has something to do with that?

Makes some sense. I know CoH had a sale a little while ago, but it was nothing mind blowing. And most people who wanted it, could have purchased it for dirt cheap during many sales. Makes sense it would be something like that, because nothing else would have explained a run on those keys.

[Emitan]

Maybe it was Duke Nukem Forever and he's embarrassed.

Does Homefront use CD keys...

[Mithos]

Yes, their fault. They should stop selling it before running out, not after.

Eh-um, they shouldn't be running out at all.

[Jay-B]

I has this had happened with DCS Blackshark. Could not play the game for a month, which was pretty insane. They should at least have the honesty to put a warning on the game page saying they don't have keys left. It's not like they don't know how many keys they have left.

[legacyzero]

Was it Prey by any chance?

I wish there were more keys to that :(

I want to own that game on PC so bad.

[Drkirby]

Bought and installed it 3 weeks ago. I think this might be it to be honest, I NEVER had any trouble playing a game from Steam before this.

Did you try to play the game since now and 3 weeks ago? I believe for games they only have a limited number of keys but can get more to, you won't be issued a key till you actually start the game up.