Subnautica developer says G2A owes it $300,000 in lost revenue

In July, G2A proposed a key-blocking tool for developers that could possibly prevent the scamming of review keys for resale. However, it would create the tool only if at least 100 developers sign up for it. At current time, however, only 19 have signed. Though G2A has extended the deadline to the end of the month, the lack of support has prompted Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds to demand $300,000 in lost revenue from G2A.

The key-blocking tool would, in theory, allow developers to stop the sale of keys through the store front. G2A wanted at least 100 developers to support it by Aug 15; otherwise, the company wasn’t going to change its ways. The likelihood of another 81 developers falling in line is incredibly slim, however. And for one developer, it isn’t enough. Following a report of the extension by GamesIndustry, Unknown Worlds took matters into its own hands.

Hey @G2A_com – thank you for offering to pay 10x the revenue lost due to our @NS2 game keys sold on your shady platform. CC @RaveofRavendale

You now owe us $300,000. Thanks. https://t.co/J5qof6wBZD pic.twitter.com/Oq97ofLoLD

— Charlie Cleveland (@Flayra) August 12, 2019

To take what is owed

Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland minced few words in his message to G2A. Calling the key-blocking tool proposal a “load of crap,” Cleveland wrote that game piracy would be a better alternative than buying keys from the store front. His piracy statement echoes that of publisher Mike Rose, who called out G2A’s shady practices in late June.

Cleveland’s message was also a callback to G2A’s prior offer to pay developers for their loss. In a statement released in early July, G2A proposed it would pay 10 times the money lost due to chargebacks. However, it would only pay that cash if the developer could prove it lost money. Well, Cleveland struck out with apparent proof, asking for 10 times the $30,000 USD of lost revenue from tackling chargebacks concerning one of their previous titles, Natural Selection 2.

Unknown Worlds isn’t the only company to claim a loss in revenue from chargebacks, of course. Of that, there are many. But Wube Software, the developer of Factorio, has also been very vocal on the entire G2A fiasco. Wube Software estimated back in mid-July that it had lost $6,600 USD from chargebacks.

The G2A saga is reaching a boiling point. No doubt it will begin bubbling over once the extended deadline is met. But we have a feeling that no matter the outcome, nor how many more developers sign the key-blocking tool proposal, one outcome is certain for G2A: there’s blood in the water, and the leviathans are circling.