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Green Man Gaming

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Green Man Gaming
Type of site
E-commerce
Available inEnglish
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Key peoplePaul Sulyok (CEO and founder)
URLwww.greenmangaming.com
Launched10 May 2010; 14 years ago (2010-05-10)
Current statusActive

Green Man Gaming is an e-commerce portal from the British-based online video game retailer, distributor and publisher Green Man.[1] It has gained 4.7 million users since its release in the year 2010.[2]

Business model

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Green Man Gaming works with companies like Steam, Uplay, Origin, and the Epic Games Store to sell in-game keys at retail and discounted prices which can be redeemed by customers on respective platforms .[3]

History

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Paul Sulyok and Lee Packham founded Green Man Gaming in 2009. Prior to this, Sulyok had served as the CEO of Prize Fight, an online gaming platform, while Packham was responsible for developing the platform's technology. Green Man Gaming commenced its official trading activities on 10 May 2010.[1]

Lee Packham developed and managed the initial launch of the retail platform and created a new method for facilitating a Video Game Exchange for Green Man Gaming. Users who downloaded games from its "Capsule" gaming client with SecuROM DRM could then trade some of their digital games for credits, which could be used to purchase anything on the Green Man Gaming website.[4] This worked by deactivating the code required to play the game, which was then re-sold as a 'pre-owned' game.[5] Capsule was retired in 2016.[6]

At the end of 2011, Callum Jay joined Green Man Gaming as the CFO, having a background in finance direction.[7][8] Tim Sawyer also joined Green Man Gaming as their EVP Operations in 2011, previously serving as the head of e-commerce at MeMega Retail Ltd.[9] After taking a one-year break from Green Man Gaming to work at Twitter developing TweetDeck's iOS, Lee Packham returned to his position as co-founder and EVP Engineering.[7]

On 9 July 2012, Green Man Gaming announced its merger with Playfire.[10] At the time of acquisition, Playfire had more than 1.2 million users, tracking over 50,000 video games on the website and allowing users to automatically track their gameplay and in-game achievements or trophies from Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live.[11] At the end of July 2012, Green Man Gaming expanded its multi-platform portfolio to include selling boxed games, and PC-DVD, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4 games, as well as consoles and peripherals.[12]

In March 2014, CEO Paul Sulyok was named as one of the 100 most influential people working in the British video game industry by trade publication, MCV.[13]

On 30 September 2014, Green Man Gaming launched its own publishing arm, Green Man Loaded, now known as Green Man Gaming Publishing.[14] Gary Rowe, former SVP Publishing and Content at SEGA joined the label as EVP Green Man Loaded.[15][16]

In October 2016, the company reached an agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment to sell digital titles for PlayStation 4 consoles through redemption keys.[17] However, by March 2019, Sony had opted to stop retail and digital sales of redemption keys across all markets, including Green Man Gaming.[18]

In March 2017, Green Man Gaming launched its first local language eCommerce website in Germany.[19] Following this expansion, Green Man Gaming rolled out sites in 10 different languages, including Chinese and South Korean.[20]

In April 2017, Green Man Gaming appointed former Take-Two CEO,[21] Paul Eibeler, to its Board as an Advisor.

In 2019, Green Man Gaming became one of the founding members of the UN-facilitated initiative Playing for the Planet Alliance, committing to absorb 324,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2030.[22]

In January 2020, Green Man Gaming announced an extension of its existing publishing program through the Digital Partners Program. This program enables developers to avail a range of publishing support options offered by the company, as well as access to the metrics that the company has collected through its storefront. GTFO was among the first titles to be published through this program.[3]

In February 2021, Green Man Gaming partnered with Payload Studios to support studio founders from underrepresented backgrounds through the Tentacle Zone Incubator.[23]

Published games

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Year Title Developer Genre(s) Platform
2015 Black & White Bushido Good Catch Games Action / Multiplayer Microsoft Windows / OS X
Quell Fallen Tree Games Puzzle Microsoft Windows
Quell Memento
Quell Reflect
Idol Hands Pocket Games Strategy Microsoft Windows / OS X / Linux
Keebles Burnt Fuse Action / Physics Microsoft Windows / OS X
Switch Galaxy Ultra Atomicom Limited Racing Microsoft Windows / OS X / linux
Eternal Step Once More With Gusto Action / Adventure Microsoft Windows / OS X / Linux
2016 Square's Route Black Death Apps Limited Puzzle Microsoft Windows / OS X
Glitchrunners Torque Studios Action / Multiplayer Microsoft Windows / OS X
The Black Death Syrin Studios Survival Microsoft Windows
2017 Aporia: Beyond The Valley Investigate North Adventure / Puzzle Microsoft Windows
Peregrin Domino Digital Limited Adventure / Puzzle Microsoft Windows / OS X
War Tech fighters Drakkar Dev Action / Mech Microsoft Windows
2018 Stable Orbit Codalyn Simulation Microsoft Windows / OS X / Linux
Stormworks: Build And Rescue Sunfire Software Sandbox / Building Microsoft Windows / OS X
2019 ShockRods Stainless Games Action / Multiplayer Microsoft Windows
2019 Pride Run IV Productions Rhythm action Microsoft Windows / OS X
2019 Skybolt Zack DEVS MUST DIE Rhythm action / Platformer Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch
2020 Aeronautica Imperialis: Flight Command Binary Planets Strategy Microsoft Windows
2020 Lovingly Evil Lizard Hazard Games Dating Sim Microsoft Windows / OS X / Linux
2020 Re:Turn - One Way Trip Red Ego Games Adventure / Puzzle Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 /

Xbox One

2020 Dustoff Z Invictus Games Ltd. Action Microsoft Windows
2020 Ponpu Purple Tree Studio Action Microsoft Windows
2021 Sea of Craft Wizard Games Adventure / construction Microsoft Windows
2022 The Galactic Junkers Evil Twin Artworks Action-adventure Microsoft Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 /

Xbox One

Controversy

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In 2015, Green Man Gaming responded to accusations of unauthorized keys being sold on the Store. The majority of keys come directly from publishers, with the occasional need to offer keys for games from publishers that are unable to provide them directly due to commercial restrictions.[24]

Following this, in November 2015, the company placed information on each game's store page on their site to identify the source of the redemption keys, either through Green Man Gaming, which comes directly from the publisher, or through an authorized third-party reseller for full transparency.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Green Man Gaming finally goes live". MCV. 15 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Green Man Gaming's £100m IPO: "We've grown between 25 to 30% every year"". GamesIndustry.biz. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Green Man Gaming's new program simplifies the publishing process". Venture Beat. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Edge Magazine - GamesRadar+". Edge.
  5. ^ "Green Man Gaming: Gian Luzio Interview - Critical Gamer". www.criticalgamer.co.uk. 14 May 2010.
  6. ^ "DRM - Capsule". Green Man Gaming. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b "GAME and TweetDeck vets join Green Man Gaming | Games industry news | MCV". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Executive Team". www.greenmangaming.com.
  9. ^ "Green Man Gaming hires new Operations Director | Games industry news | MCV". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Playfire Acquired By European Games Retailer Green Man Gaming – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 9 July 2012.
  11. ^ Petitte, Omri (9 July 2012). "Green Man Gaming merges with gaming social network Playfire". VentureBeat. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Green Man Gaming to sell boxed PC and console games". Eurogamer. 23 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Revealed: The 100 most influential people working in the British video games industry | Games industry news | MCV". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Steam competitor Green Man Gaming launches its own publishing arm, Green Man Loaded". 30 September 2014.
  15. ^ "Green Man Loaded". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  16. ^ "Green Man Gaming Publishing". www.greenmangaming.com.
  17. ^ Pagat, Mat (6 October 2016). "Digital PS4 Games Are Now Sold on Green Man Gaming". GameSpot. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  18. ^ Orland, Kyle (26 March 2020). "Sony stops selling digital game codes at physical retailers". Ars Technica. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Green Man Gaming launches retail website in Germany". 3 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Store". Green Man Gaming. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  21. ^ "MCV Jobs Weekly: Former Take-Two CEO joins Green Man Gaming | Games industry news | MCV". Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Can game makers rise to meet the challenge of climate change?". GamesIndustry.biz. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Payload Studios launches incubator for underrepresented developers". GamesIndustry.biz. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Green Man Gaming Denies It Sells "Grey Market" Game Keys". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  25. ^ Purchese, Robert (18 November 2015). "Green Man Gaming will now tell you where game keys come from". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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