Redeeming Codes

First: check the platform, then the account

Every key is for one platform. A Steam key only works in Steam, an Xbox key only on a Microsoft account, and so on. The platform is on the product page and on your order.

Put the key in the game or product-code field. Several platforms also have a wallet or add-funds field, and a game key entered there is rejected as "invalid" — which looks exactly like a bad key.

Many keys are region-locked to the country your platform account is registered to, not to where you live. Your physical address doesn't matter; your account's registered country does. Every product page shows the key's region before you pay.

Steam

Web (most reliable): store.steampowered.com/account/registerkey — sign in, enter the key, confirm.

Desktop client: Games → Activate a Product on Steam. It's in the top menu bar — not the store page, not the Library, not account settings. If you can't find it, use the web URL.

Mobile: the Steam app is not a reliable redemption path. Use the web URL in a mobile browser.

EA App

In the app: My Library → Redeem Code. (Not account settings. Not the store. This is the one people miss.)

Web: ea.com/redeem

Account settings: Payment and Wallet tab → Redeem a product code.

Buying for a child? You must be signed in to their account, not yours. EA is explicit about this.

Some older titles can't be redeemed in the EA app at all and need the original disc — The Sims (1), The Sims 2, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Vietnam, Command & Conquer, Medal of Honor, Crysis, among others.

Epic Games

Launcher: click your name in the upper-right corner → Redeem Code. Not the Library, not the store.

Web: epicgames.com/account/code-redemption

Epic's own guidance on failures is basically one thing: the code is for a different platform. Check the logo on the code. If it's a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo code, it belongs there, not here.

Battle.net (Blizzard)

Web, after signing in. The field is labeled Redemption Code.

Region is a hard block. A code outside your account's region cannot be used.

Rockstar

Rockstar Games Launcher: avatar, top right → Redeem Code.

⚠️ The Rockstar trap: there is a Check button and then a confirmation checkbox and then Redeem. People enter the code, hit Check, see it validate, and stop — believing they're done. They are not. The code is not redeemed until the checkbox is ticked and Redeem is pressed.

Codes are one-time-use and permanently applied to whichever account is signed in. Check the account before you confirm.

Ubisoft Connect

In the Ubisoft Connect PC app: select your profile in the top left corner (or open the Ubisoft Connect overlay), choose Key/Code Activation, enter your key in the Activate Product field, and select Activate. Some keys ask you to pick a product and platform.

Ubisoft keys are 16 or 19 characters with dashes, like AAAA-BBBB-CCCC-DDDD. Enter them in capital letters, with the dashes.

The game is tied to the Ubisoft account you activate it on. Once it's activated, it's in your Ubisoft Connect library, ready to download and install.

⚠️ Several failed tries in a row will temporarily block you from activating a key, so check it carefully before you try again.

GOG

Web: gog.com/redeem. Sign in to your GOG account (or create one), enter the code, and follow the prompts. Check that the game name GOG shows matches what you bought before you confirm.

GOG Galaxy: "+ Add games & Friends", then "Redeem GOG code".

Xbox / Microsoft

Web (canonical, works everywhere): redeem.microsoft.com

Microsoft Store app on Windows: account, top-right → Redeem code.

Xbox app on Windows: gamerpic, top-LEFT → Settings → Redeem.

Yes — opposite corners in two Microsoft apps. That really is how it is.

You cannot redeem on the Xbox mobile app. Microsoft says so explicitly. Use the web URL in a mobile browser.

Region-locked to your Microsoft account's country. A code for one region will not redeem on an account set to another.

PlayStation

⚠️ Count the digits first. It's the first thing to check.

  • 12 digits = a voucher code. Goes in the Redeem Code field.
  • 10 digits = a discount code. Completely different thing. Goes in the cart at checkout. It will fail in the voucher field.

Web: PlayStation Store → your profile, top of screen → Redeem Code.

PS5: PlayStation Store → press triangle → … (More) → Redeem Code. Nobody finds this on their own.

PS4: PlayStation Store → scroll to the bottom of the sidebar → Redeem Codes.

Region: strict. A PSN code is tied to your account's country, not where you live. A US account in Germany needs US codes. Content cannot be transferred between accounts, so a wrong-region redemption cannot be undone.

Nintendo Switch

⚠️ Does your code start with B or S? Check this first.

Some retailer cards carry both a Download Code and a Control Number. The Download Code usually starts with B and has no hyphens. The Control Number usually starts with S and has hyphens. If your code starts with S, you are entering the wrong number.

Also: Nintendo codes never contain O, I, or Z. Those characters are disabled on the keyboard. If it looks like an O, it's a zero. If it looks like an I, it's a one.

Console: Nintendo eShop → Enter Code, on the left side of the screen. (People scroll the store hunting for it and miss the sidebar.)

Web: ec.nintendo.com/redeem — but note you must have opened the eShop on the console with that account at least once first, or the web redemption fails. This catches out brand-new accounts.

Region: the strictest here. A code for the Americas will not work on a European account. Nintendo's own remedy is blunt — give the code to someone who can use it. They do not convert or reissue.

"Already used" — what it actually means

On every platform here, a redeemed key is permanently bound to the account that redeemed it. It cannot be transferred, un-redeemed, moved, or reissued by the platform. Every one of them will send you back to the retailer — which is us.

Before you email us, one thing worth checking: do you have a second account you forgot about? Check the library and purchase history of every account you own.

If it wasn't you: that is exactly what the Activation Guarantee is for. Send us the error and you choose — replacement or full refund.