What Is Kinguin?
Kinguin is an online marketplace where third-party sellers offer game keys, software, and digital goods at discounted prices. Unlike platforms like Steam or Epic Games, Kinguin does not sell directly but acts as a middleman, similar to G2A or CDKeys.
Kinguin is headquartered in Hong Kong and it’s been operating since 2013. Considered the “Amazon” of the esports, video games and software realms, it brings users the possibility to become sellers and offer such products to an audience of over 5 million visitors every single month.
As such, Kinguin.net has managed to become the most popular online marketplace for esports, video games and software nowadays, surpassing the likes of competitors such as G2A.
How It Works:
- Sellers list game keys at various prices.
- You buy a key and receive it via email or your Kinguin account.
- Redeem the key on the respective platform (Steam, Origin, etc.).
Now that you have a proper overview on what Kinguin is, let’s check the pros and cons, the easiest way to determine if it’s the right marketplace for you or not.
Pros and Cons of Kinguin
If you want a quick yet complete analysis on Kinguin, the best way to see if it’s the right marketplace for you is by comparing the pros and cons. Here you have all the information you need.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
| Established marketplace trusted million’s of users | Limited selection of PlayStation CD keys |
| Huge discounts on CD keys, accounts, gift, prepaid cards, and software | You have to pay fees on all payments |
| Outstanding variety of platforms and games | Refund process can be difficult |
| Competitive prices on game keys | Keys come from third-party sellers (risk of invalid keys) |
| Solid buyer protection policy to guarantee a seamless and safe experience | |
| Quick and safe payments |
As you can see, the pros of Kinguin.net massively overcome the few cons, making it a solid marketplace for all things software, video games and esports.
👉 Best for: Gamers looking for discounts who are willing to take some risks.
👉 Not ideal for: Those who prefer guaranteed legitimacy and strong customer service.
What Does Kinguin Offer?
Because it is one of the largest marketplaces nowadays, Kinguin has an extensive offer of products. I’ll go through each one below:
💳 Gift Cards
If you are looking for gift cards to play at your preferred CS:GO gambling site like CSGOLuck, CSGORoll, CSGOEmpire, CSGOFast, amongst others, you can find them at Kinguin.net. Likewise, they also offer gift cards for popular platforms like Steam, as well as for different games.
This is why Kinguin.net is very popular amongst skins gamblers, because it offers you a safe and quick way to top up your balance on different CS2 casinos, and often, you can buy such gift cards at a lower price thanks to the discount codes offered by the platform.
🔑 Keys
When it comes to CD keys, Kinguin offers everything you might ever need, because it covers the largest variety of genres and platforms. Be it Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Rockstar, amongst others, you can find the key you need on this marketplace.
Just like gift cards, keys are one of the most popular products at Kinguin because you can buy them at a lower price thanks to the promotional codes, bringing you access to unparalleled deals.
🪪 Accounts
Just like you can buy keys and gift cards for a wide myriad of games, you can also buy new and aged accounts. For games like CS2, Rust, Fortnite, LoL, and several other titles and esports, you can buy ready-to-go accounts instantly, and by using the promo code, you can get them on a sweet discount not seen at other marketplaces.
🥋 Skins and Items
Kinguin.net also puts at your disposal skins and in-game items from games like Fortnite. However, it’s fair to say this is not its biggest category, rather just an add-on. Furthermore, Kinguin also has a section dedicated to recommending trading sites where you can buy skins safely, for games like CS2.
It’s also important to mention it’s possible to buy CS:GO cases at Kinguin.net, but given the scope of the marketplace, it’s not a good choice for CS2 case opening. If you want to indulge in it, we recommend you to check out our recommendations on the best CS:GO case opening sites nowadays.
🎁 Mystery Boxes
Just like CS:GO brings you the opportunity to buy cases and open them to win rare skins, you can do the same at Kinguin.net. They also sell the so-called “Mystery Boxes”, which as you can easily guess, have random prizes that range from skins and in-game items to keys, games, prepaid cards and gift cards.
So, if you’re in the mood for gambling a bit, you can buy mystery boxes at Kinguin.net, bringing you the opportunity to get an excellent ROI.
💿 Software
Kinguin.net is not only dedicated to video games and esports, because it’s also possible to buy a wide myriad of software such as Windows 10, Windows 11, MS Office, Bitdefender, ESET, Norton, HMA! VPN, AI software, amongst others.
For example, if you need Windows 10 to run CS:GO, you can buy a CS:GO account, a key to the Prime status, and the operating system, all at the same time and at a massively discounted price.
Likewise, if you need to buy a proper VPN at a discounted price to play at CS:GO casinos and skins gambling sites not available in your country, you can buy your VPN subscription and a gift card to top up your account on Kinguin.net.
This kind of versatility makes Kinguin the best marketplace for all things esports and video games nowadays.
🌠 NFTs
This is not a big section at Kinguin, but they also sell NFTs. You can buy non-fungible tokens from a fair selection of collections such as Habbo Tokens, Legends of the Metaverse Shards, Angry Orc Club, Kolex, Guild of Guardians, amongst others.
We’re not fans of this section, especially since NFTs are not a good investment nowadays because they rely heavily on marketing to pump their value, and the collections at Kinguin.net lack it.
So we recommend you to avoid this section, and simply focus on what Kinguin.net excels at: products and solutions for esports and videogames.
Is Kinguin Legit?
Short Answer: Yes, but with small risks.
Since Kinguin does not source its keys directly from publishers, there’s always a chance of invalid, duplicate, or region-locked keys. However, many buyers successfully receive working keys.
Customer Trust & Reviews
⭐ Trustpilot Rating: [4.5/5] (updated for 2025)
⭐ SiteJabber Rating: [2.3/5]
⭐ Reddit & Forums Feedback: Mixed opinions, with many cautioning against certain sellers.
🔍 Common Issues Reported:
- Invalid keys (some sellers may resell used keys)
- Slow or denied refunds (especially without Kinguin Buyer Protection)
- Hidden fees at checkout
Kinguin Buyer Protection (a.k.a. Kinguin Shield) – Is It Worth It?
Kinguin offers an optional buyer protection plan that costs extra (~10% of the game price).
Kinguin Shield Benefits:
✔ Refunds if the key doesn’t work
✔ Priority customer support
✔ Replacement keys for faulty purchases
🛑 Without Kinguin Shield: If your key doesn’t work, Kinguin may not refund you, and you’ll have to deal with the third-party seller directly.
👉 Verdict: If you’re buying an expensive game, adding Kinguin Shield is a safer bet.
Kinguin vs. Competitors: How Does It Compare?
| Feature | Kinguin | G2A | CDKeys | Steam |
|---|
| Price | ✅ Cheapest | ✅ Cheap | ⚖ Mid-range | ❌ Expensive |
| Game Selection | ✅ Large | ✅ Large | ⚖ Medium | ✅ Large |
| Key Source | ❌ Third-party | ❌ Third-party | ✅ Official resellers | ✅ Direct |
| Refund Policy | ❌ Complicated | ❌ Complicated | ✅ Easier | ✅ Easy |
| Buyer Protection | ⚖ Optional | ⚖ Optional | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
📌 Best Alternative: If you want official keys without reseller risks, CDKeys or Steam may be better. Those will come at a cost premium though.
How to Buy Safely on Kinguin
🔹 Check Seller Ratings – Only buy from sellers with high ratings and positive reviews.
🔹 Avoid Suspiciously Cheap Deals – If a $60 game is listed for $5, it’s likely a scam.
🔹 Enable Kinguin Shield – Increases refund chances if something goes wrong.
🔹 Verify Regional Restrictions – Some keys won’t work in your country.
🚀 Pro Tip: Use a credit card or PayPal for added purchase protection in case you need a chargeback.
Does Kinguin offer CSGO Skins?
While we found that Kinguin doesn’t offer counter strike skins directly, they do offer discounted ways to get them. They offer gift cards for a lot of the top skin gaming and trading sites available on the market. You’ll find cards for all the top brands including:
It’s also worth noting they offer gift cards for skins trading sites such as DMarket, Bitskins, Skinsmonkey, Skinport, amongst others.
Relevance of Kinguin in the Industry
Kinguin is one of the most popular and relevant marketplaces in the industry, especially in the realm of video games and esports. We have analyzed its relevance, so you can see why we think it could be a good idea to use it.
Highly Reputable in the Esports World
When it comes to buying keys and accounts for a wide myriad of games, including the most popular esports such as CS2 (CS:GO), Fortnite, LoL, Dota 2, and Rust, Kinguin is the go-to option for thousands of gamers.
However, it’s reputable in the esports world not only because of its outstanding popularity, but because it has built and implemented real-life facilities for empowering esports players: the Kinguin Esports Lounge (Gdansk, Poland) and the Esports Performance Center (Warsaw, Poland).
Both facilities bring esports athletes and hobbyist gamers to access a top-notch environment for playing their favorite games, honing their skills and connect with other players. This is a feature that sets Kinguin.net apart from the rest of marketplace, because it’s truly immersed in the world of esports, by bringing the community empowering solutions,
A Big Name in the World of Skins and in-Game Items Gambling
Prepaid and gift cards are popular payment methods at CS:GO casinos, skins gambling and case opening sites. And Kinguin has made a name in this segment of the industry by offering gift and prepaid cards for practically all the reputable skins and in-game items gambling sites in existence.
This is a fact that makes Kinguin.net one of the most relevant marketplaces for esports and video games nowadays, because it’s the go-to source when you need to top up your accounts for wagering skins and in-game items.
An Established Brand with a Strong Reputation
Kinguin.net is an established marketplace with a strong reputation, visited by over 5,000,000 users every single month. It has thousands of listed offers, plenty of liquidity and solid reviews on the most important ratings sites such as TrustPilot, where it’s been rated 4.4 out of 5.0 with over 66,000 reviews.
Bottom Line
With all the evidence presented here, it’s easy to see why millions of users visit Kinguin.net every month to buy and sell keys, gift cards, games, accounts, software and more: because it’s a legit, easy-to-use and highly-liquid platform with the best prices on the market.
While they charge fees on payments, and they lack variety for PS keys, as well as for cases and skins, they’re just small cons in comparison to all the benefits Kinguin.net offers.
Therefore, we can confirm Kinguin.net is an excellent marketplace and you should definitely join it if you’re looking to buy PC, Steam or XBox keys, gift cards for skins gambling or exclusive deals of software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the Kinguin keys are legit for all the games and platforms offered on the website. Kinguin only allows reputable and verified sellers to offer keys on their platform, bringing you the transparency you need to buy without worries.
Yes, you can buy accounts on Kinguin. Different sellers sell accounts for a large variety of games including CS:GO (CS2), EA Sports FC, Rust, Fortnite, LoL, amongst others. Explore its library and you’re sure to find the account you’re looking for.
Overall, Kinguin is a better marketplace than G2A because it offers a larger variety of gift cards, keys, accounts, software and in-game items at lower prices than G2A, and since it brings a seamless and smooth user experience, this is why we consider it a better choice than G2A.
Yes, you can claim a discount on Kinguin keys by using the Kinguin promo code. It will bring you a discount of 7% to 10%, bringing you more purchasing power to acquire more keys without making an additional deposit.
Yes, but it’s difficult without Kinguin Shield. Refunds depend on the seller’s policy and may take time.
Not necessarily, but since keys are sourced from various sellers, some may be obtained through unauthorized means.