Instant-Gaming.com
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Fine for price-sensitive gamers buying their own PC/console keys at a discount, with a strong 4.7/5 Trustpilot record.
New check
Comparison
Instant-Gaming.com vs Steam
Instant-Gaming.com lands on Depends, and Steam lands on Worth it.
Steam
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
If you play PC games, Steam is the default storefront . free to join, with the deepest catalog, community, and hardware ecosystem.
| Compare | Instant-Gaming.com | Steam |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Price-sensitive PC gamers | PC gamers |
| Who it's not for | Anyone needing a guaranteed refund if a key fails | Non-gamers . it's a game store, not work software |
| Privacy | No confirmed breach of the site itself; it runs a bug bounty, but 221,932 associated credentials appear in infostealer logs.⁵ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.12 |
| Support quality | Reddit documents unresolved purchase issues | No evidence found on support quality |
| Public sentiment | Overwhelmingly positive on Trustpilot, but Reddit and Facebook threads are split on legitimacy and refund handling.¹ | User threads mostly welcome newcomers; recurring gripes are low-quality reviews and account theft, not the store itself.15 |
| Biggest gotcha | Third-party keys can be region-locked or revoked; refund recourse appears limited³ | Wallet funds and refund credits keep money locked inside the store |
Pick Instant-Gaming.com when
- Price-sensitive PC gamers
- Console buyers hunting key discounts
- Deal hunters comparing against Steam prices
When Instant-Gaming.com is not a fit
- Anyone needing a guaranteed refund if a key fails
- Buyers unwilling to risk region locks or activation issues
- Companies buying licenses . no invoicing or business terms
- Security-cautious users avoiding stealer-log-exposed domains
Pick Steam when
- PC gamers
- Deal hunters
- Indie game developers
- VR players via SteamVR
When Steam is not a fit
- Non-gamers . it's a game store, not work software
- Console-only players on PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch
- Developers unwilling to pay $99 to publish
- Players who refuse client software or DRM
Sources
- Trustpilot reviews of instant-gaming.comtrustpilot.comreview
review
- Hudson Rock infostealer credential reporthudsonrock.comsecurity
- Instant-Gaming.com bug bounty documentationinstant-gaming.comofficial
- Instant-Gaming.com homepageinstant-gaming.comofficial
- Instant-Gaming.com much cheaper than Steam . community postcommunity.battlefront.comreview
- Trustpilot reviews of g2a.com (competitor)trustpilot.comreview
- Welcome to Steam (official store)store.steampowered.comofficial
- Steamworks Partner Program . Steam Directpartner.steamgames.comofficial
- Steam product security pagestore.steampowered.comsecurity
- Steam Hardware & Software Surveystore.steampowered.comofficial
- Steam overview for game devs . Valadriavaladria.comreview
- should I try steam? . r/Steamreddit.comreview