Redeeming Codes

First: which kind of code do you have?

This is the single most useful question on this page, and it resolves a large share of "invalid code" reports.

	Game / product key	Wallet or gift card code
What it does	Adds a game to your library	Adds money to your balance
Where it goes	Product activation field	Wallet / add funds field
Wrong field?	Rejected as "invalid" — and it looks identical to a genuinely bad key.

The one rule to lead with: wallet and gift codes are region- or currency-locked to your account, not to where you live. Your physical address is irrelevant. Your account's registered country is what governs. This is the most common cause of a dead gift-card code, without exception.

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.

Wallet codes are a different field — and they're currency-matched, not region-matched. A code issued in a different currency from your account will error. Your account currency shows in the top-right of the client.

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.

Gift cards go somewhere else — the EA Wallet, not the game-code field.

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 labelled 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 trap that generates most Rockstar tickets: 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.

Xbox / Microsoft

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

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

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

Yes — opposite corners in two Microsoft apps. That is genuinely 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.

Office and Windows keys are a different flow entirely. All three are 25 characters and look identical. Office → setup.office.com. Windows → Settings → Activation → Change product key. Neither works at redeem.microsoft.com.

PlayStation

⚠️ Count the digits first. This single question resolves a whole category of tickets.

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. Funds and content cannot be transferred between accounts, so a wrong-region redemption cannot be undone.

Buying a wallet top-up for a child? It must be redeemed on the family manager's account, not the child's.

Nintendo Switch

⚠️ Does your code start with B or S? This is the highest-yield question on this entire page.

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.

Good news: eShop gift cards and Switch Online memberships use the same field as game codes. No separate wallet field to get wrong.

"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. This resolves a real share of these.

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.