Humble Bundle Implements $1 Minimum for Steam Keys
By Kyle Mann | December 21, 2011 | News | No comments | Share
Wherever there are people being generous, there are scum-sucking leeches ready to take advantage of their kindness. As is the case now with Humble Indie Bundle 4, as gamers trying to win big in Valve’s great holiday giveaway promotional have apparently been abusing the Steam keys the Humble team gives out in order to get more entries into the contest. These not-so-humble folk have been buying lots of Humble Bundles for a penny, then signing up new Steam accounts and “legitimizing” them with the keys.
As a result, the Humble crew have decided to disallow giving out Steam keys for any purchase under $1. Giving less than that amount will still net you the games to download via your unique Humble Bundle URL, but Steam registration will not be included. However, the Humble team promises that if you can’t afford a dollar they will review your case and fork over a Steam key for those without enough dough.
This is unfair to legitimate entrants and is definitely not what we wanted to encourage with Humble Indie Bundle 4. It’s a lose-lose situation for the indie developers, charities, Valve, and Humble Bundle.The Humble Bundle
It’s sad that the team working for charity and indie developers has had to resort to this, but the $1 threshold does seem reasonable enough. On the positive side of things, the team recently announced that all HIB4 purchasers would be receiving all HIB3 titles as well as their soundtracks for free. That includes the wonderful VVVVVV‘s soundtrack, which is worth full retail price on its own. New purchasers will have to beat the minimum in order to take advantage of the offer.
