Valve have revoked a set of Sniper Elite 3 Steam keys after they found out they were stolen from a retailer and sold onto other key-selling websites.
Rebellion have told those affected to contact the seller they bought the code from for a refund. While under no obligation to, Rebellion are also giving Sniper’s preorder bonuses to anyone who can prove they bought their stolen key before the game was released.
“We have been saddened to learn that some fans have been caught out by companies selling unlicensed or stolen Sniper Elite 3 Steam keys,” Rebellion wrote in a post on the Steam forums. “If you have been affected by this we encourage you to contact the seller in question and seek a refund immediately.
“In addition we’re aware that some gamers may have pre-ordered these keys in good faith, believing them to be genuine – missing out on both the game, and the “Target Hitler” DLC pre-order incentive.
“In response to this we’d like to offer the “Target Hitler” DLC FREE to all those affected by this.”
Details on how to claim the offer are in the post.
“One of our PC retail distributors informed us that some of their allotted Steam keys were stolen. We believe these keys were then resold to multiple companies, with no payments going to either Valve or the retail distributor.
“Steam were immediately informed and have now revoked that set of keys.
“As a developer Rebellion are happy for you to purchase the game anywhere you see fit and support price competition in the PC market – we have in no way targeted any specific vendors (who may have also thought these keys were legitimate), just this one set of keys.”
It’s unfortunate for those affected because resellers may not provide a refund as they too may not have known they were buying stolen keys.
Though, if you bought your copy through CDKey.com, then you are able to get a full refund:
@Bob9999999 Hi Bobby, ur refund left our account & should be on ur PayPal straight away. Best to contact PayPal. https://t.co/GgLLng6tmi
— cdkeys.com (@cdkeyscom) June 28, 2014
As are Instant-Gaming, who claim the illegitimate keys “affect more than 50 shops.”
We’re working on a review at the moment but, till then, you can read Everything We Know about Sniper Elite 3 and why Rob fell grudgingly in love with it when he played it at GDC. And, if you’re not able to get your hands on Rebellion’s shooter, you might enjoy one of the 15 best first-person shooters on PC.