Rebellion, developer of Sniper Elite 3, have partnered up with Valve to revoke a large number of stolen CD-Keys that were apparently sold to unknowing customers.
While Sniper Elite 3 is currently perched at #1 on the UK Charts, Rebellion doesn’t believe the affected CD-Key sales have influenced that position. The developer has released a statement in regards to the unfortunate security breach and it’s impact on their customers.
“We have been saddened to learn that some fans have been caught out by companies selling unlicensed or stolen Sniper Elite 3 Steam keys. If you have been affected by this we encourage you to contact the seller in question and seek a refund immediately.”
While it’s still a bit unclear on how exactly these keys were stolen and distributed to legitimate retailers for sale, Rebellion has taken some fire for the entire debacle and especially the parts that aren’t adding up.
“Unfortunately, we find it rather hard to believe that a single set of ‘stolen’ keys managed to reach official distributors and publisher offices all around the world.”
The statement from CJS-CDKeys was released when news of the security breach was announced and continued on.
“We believe that this statement: ‘As a developer Rebellion are happy for you to purchase the game anywhere you see fit’ is an absolute fabrication.”
This comment comes in response to Rebellion encouraging those affected by the revoking to seek refunds from the retailers they purchased Sniper Elite 3 from and then re-purchasing the game directly from Steam. This statement, which has since been removed, contradicts the idea of supporting the retailer of your choice and could possibly suggest that Rebellion has something to gain from customers going through Steam for purchasing.
Regardless of the possible business end of the shenanigans, the fact is that a lot of gamers got hurt in this scenario and it’s unfortunate that they now have to go through various retailers customer support to get a refund to possibly re-purchase Sniper Elite 3 all over again.
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