You've seen the prices. It’s midnight, you’re looking at a $70 AAA title on Steam, and then you see it for $34.29 on CDKeys. You wonder if it’s a scam. You wonder if your account will get banned. But mostly, you wonder: how on earth are they making a profit while cutting the price in half?
Honestly, the answer isn't a single "secret trick." It’s a mix of global economics, bulk buying, and a very specific type of retail arbitrage that makes publishers pull their hair out.
CDKeys (which recently rebranded its storefront to Loaded in late 2025 to modernize the brand) doesn’t work like a standard shop. They aren't an "authorized reseller" like Humble Bundle or Green Man Gaming. They operate in what the industry calls the gray market.
The Arbitrage Engine: Regional Pricing Exploits
The biggest way how does cdkeys make money is through regional price differences.
Think about it. A game that costs $70 in the United States might be priced at the equivalent of $30 in Brazil, Turkey, or parts of Southeast Asia. Publishers do this because $70 is an impossible price point in many developing economies. If they didn't lower the price, nobody there would buy it.
CDKeys sends their buyers—or works with a network of suppliers—to purchase thousands of copies in these lower-priced regions. They then turn around and sell those keys to gamers in the UK, US, or Europe.
If they buy a key for $25 and sell it to you for $40, they’ve made a $15 profit. You’ve saved $30 compared to the Steam store. Everyone wins, except the publisher who just lost out on the higher-margin sale they expected from a Western customer.
They Aren't a Marketplace (And That Matters)
Unlike G2A or Kinguin, CDKeys isn't an "eBay for games." This is a huge distinction that people often miss.
On G2A, any random person can list a key. This leads to the infamous "stolen credit card" problem. A thief steals a card, buys 100 copies of Call of Duty, sells them for $20 each on a marketplace, and disappears before the chargebacks hit. When the chargeback happens, the developer loses the money and the key gets revoked.
CDKeys is different. They are the direct seller. They source the keys themselves.
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Because they control their own inventory, the risk of "fraudulent keys" is much lower than on open marketplaces. They make money on the margin of their own stock, not by taking a transaction fee from third-party sellers. This "buy low, sell high" model is as old as retail itself, just applied to 25-digit alphanumeric codes.
The Secret World of Physical Clearance
You might think digital keys only exist as lines of code, but many of them start as physical boxes.
Believe it or not, physical retail stores still exist in many parts of the world. When a big-box retailer in Europe or Asia has 5,000 physical copies of a game that isn't selling, they want to clear that shelf space. They sell those boxes to liquidators for pennies on the dollar.
CDKeys or their suppliers buy these "dead" physical stocks. They literally have people (or machines) crack open the plastic cases, scan the code on the back of the manual, and upload it to their database.
It’s manual. It’s tedious. But it’s incredibly profitable when you’re buying a $60 game for $5 in a clearance bin.
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No Overhead Means Pure Profit
Steam takes a 30% cut of every sale. PlayStation and Xbox take similar bites. That’s a massive "tax" on every transaction.
CDKeys doesn't pay that. Since they aren't part of the official distribution network, they don't have to follow the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) rules that "authorized" shops like Amazon or Best Buy have to follow.
They also don't spend millions on marketing "hubs" or community features. They have a website, a database, and a support team. By stripping away the fluff of a "platform," they can survive on razor-thin margins that would bankrupt a traditional store.
The 2026 Rebrand: Why "Loaded"?
As mentioned, the shift to the name Loaded in late 2025 was a strategic move. The name "CDKeys" was getting filtered out by many forums and social media platforms because of its "gray market" reputation.
By rebranding, they’ve attempted to move into a broader lifestyle gaming brand. They’ve also expanded more aggressively into:
- Gift cards (PSN, Xbox, Nintendo)
- Software licenses (Windows, Office)
- In-game currency (Fortnite V-Bucks, Roblox Robux)
These items often have even more volatile regional pricing than games, allowing for even higher profit margins during seasonal sales.
Is It Legit? The Nuanced Reality
Is it legal? Generally, yes. In many jurisdictions, once a product is sold (the First Sale Doctrine), the buyer has the right to resell it.
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Is it ethical? That’s where it gets sticky.
When you buy from CDKeys, the developer usually received some money at the first point of sale (in the cheaper region). However, they aren't getting the "fair" price they set for your specific region. Indie developers, in particular, have been vocal about how this hurts their ability to fund future projects.
What happens if a key doesn't work?
Because CDKeys (Loaded) acts as the retailer, they usually provide their own "insurance." If a key is region-locked or invalid, they typically replace it or refund it to protect their Trustpilot rating—which stays remarkably high (currently around 4.8/5). They make so much money on the volume of successful sales that eating the cost of a few "bad" keys is just a cost of doing business.
Actionable Next Steps for Gamers
If you're planning to use CDKeys or the new Loaded storefront, here is how to do it without getting burned:
- Check the Region: Always look for the "Global" or "Worldwide" tag. If you buy a "EU Only" key while living in Chicago, it won't activate, and you'll be stuck in a support ticket loop.
- Compare with "IsThereAnyDeal": Sometimes, authorized sites like Fanatical or Humble actually beat CDKeys' price during official sales. Always check a price aggregator first.
- Use Secure Payment: Even though CDKeys is generally reliable, always use PayPal or a credit card with strong fraud protection. Never use a direct debit card if you can avoid it.
- Acknowledge the Dev Impact: If it’s a small indie game you love, consider buying it on Steam or GOG. If it’s a $70 title from a billion-dollar publisher that’s full of microtransactions anyway, the "gray market" becomes a much more tempting financial choice.