Cheap fun for xbox and PC owners thanks to the grey market
= Principle =
Games in the EU are expensive, the Euro is a rather strong currency (yes, even despite the recent plunge), and there is a loophole to exploit in Microsoft's key validation system on their official platform, so why not use it.?
The currencies of some countries are really weak compared to the dollar / euro, and MS usually adjusts the price to the region.
Thing is... despite your account being located in a specific region, you can buy and validate a game key froma region on any MS account.
You will need a VPN, and know that for my fellow EU peeps, Turkey and Argentina (as of 2022) are the best regions to pull this off.
= Prerequisite = A VPN to either Argentina or Turkey, I suggest TunnelBear, free for 500 MBs of traffic, enough for what we are doing.
= Modus Operandi (aka "How To") =
- Find a game key you like on key platform, that belong to another region. Websites like Gamivo or Eneba are pretty good.
- buy said key
- connect to the VPN to the corresponding region
- Once connected (verify through ioinfo.io if needed to ensure your IP belongs to the activation region
- go to redeem.microsoft.com, log in with your account and redeem.
- Once done, log off, disconnect the VPN and enjoy the games on your console :)
= Ethical consideration =
Yes the grey market I'm using here can be unreliable, and expose yourself to ... I don't know to be fair... it actually and pretty surprisingly never backfired. Loosing a few bucks? While you can simply gain access to cheaper products?
If this worries you, just know that you can alos rely on Paypal's ease of being reimbursed if things go wrong.