3 days left, still no possible spoilers for what games are about to appear? Maybe a drawn paint hint or 1 game out of 5 reveal?
Sure thing, here’s how it goes:
- Either a developer reaches out to us and asks for more information about the coin shop.
- We reach out to a developer/publisher to pitch the coin shop to them.
About 95% of the time I would have to reach out to a developer/publisher in order to get them on-board with the coin shop.
Basically I go on the hunt for games and take the following factors into consideration:
- Is the game positively reviewed on Steam (important factor);
- What Steam features does it include (e.g. trading cards, achievements, controller support);
- The genre of the game;
- How much does it cost (the price you pay as a gamer);
- Has it been in bundles or special deals like Twitch Prime recently;
- The lowest price it has been sold for on Steam / other platforms;
- Does the game still receive updates and/or has DLC as well;
- What’s the reputation of the title (e.g. some games have a negative reputation for whatever reason);
- How popular is the game;
- How well do I know the developer/publisher.
When I’ve found a few games that would be a good fit we’re entering the ‘‘negotiation’’-part (obviously only if the dev/pub is interested).
The dev/pubs wants $X and we want to pay $Y. We talk about some of the factors (listed above), the amount of keys and what potential other plans a developer/publisher has with future titles. Sometimes we do a meeting (digital) and then we either come to an agreement, or not. If not, the process repeats from the top. If we do come to an agreement we’re paying the developer $X per key and basically buy in bulk. We’re always purchasing directly from a developer/publisher for the coin shop.
This would explain why you would sometimes see a period where we would have more games of a specific single publisher because it was part of a bigger deal. Basically, as with everything when it comes to purchasing in bulk: the more you get, the cheaper it becomes per unit. But the total quantity needs to justify that for the developer/publisher. It’s all about finding a balance there. In some cases we set the coin shop price, while in other cases the dev/pub would like their game to have a specific coin value.
When we received the Steam keys I need to brief various other people within the team in order to make sure that everything is ready for when the coin shop games need to go live. (e.g. assets need to be made, newsletter needs to be made, keys need to be uploaded and more.)
Even though some of the games in the coin shop are less known or are smaller in scope I’ve always tried to look for games (while also balancing what other games were in the coin shop in the past) that were fun to play and would be worth your time to checking it out.
I’ll give you a few hints:
- The games have not been sold in the coin shop previously;
- The review percentages of the games are: 93%, 88%, 94%, 93% and 79%.
- It is not Poop in My Soup.
Very excited after these hints. Thank you very much ^^
Whoa, thanks for the detailed explanation! Sounds about like I expected it to go. Sounds like a stressful job.
What kind of quantities did you usually get for the shop? Was it hundreds? Thousands? Or is that still secret info since the shop is still live?
that means a range of 20,000 to 45,000 keys (for the last 5 at least)
Even when you account for volume discounts, that’s just ridiculous amounts of money given away.
Much obliged, Chrono, much obliged 
So is it worth visiting this website daily anymore? Or at all, for that matter?
I mean I’ve been doing it for 1171 days in a row for the Coin incentive and nothing else.
I’m guessing you didn’t know that there are often threads created daily on here informimg everyone on Free games given away on Steam and other platforms as well huh? Or Free games being given away by other sites as well? Or that several kind folks on here ACTUALLY give away Free games too, albeit they require a bit of effort on anyone who wants a shot at them.
Didn’t need to know any of that since I’m already subscribed (and have been, for years now) to every and all news from several websites regarding every possible free games on all existing platforms.
As for this particular website, all I’ve been interested in have been the games given away in the Shop via the Coin system that is apparently going to be removed…
So “thank you” for your “pertinent” answer.
lol, every and all news regarding every possible free game in existence!
lol
Your skepticism aside, explain the “2000+” games that I’ve accumulated for free in the past 3 years on Steam, GOG, Uplay, Bethesda, Blizzard, Epic, Rockstar, Origin etc.
seems you missed a few places, though, is all I am saying. To make a statement “every possible free games on all existing platforms”. Toodles 
“Of course” I “missed a few places”. “Of course”.
Toodle-oo.
I have many times, nice try.
I heard there’s even games you can buy and that this website is in fact a store (like, for real money, not coins or anything, and like, rly good deals too), but that might be a rumor actually, or maybe it’s like a secret or something that is only shared with initiates.
[there’s even been rumors that it’s a different deal every day, for a different game, but that just sounds too crazy to possibly be true, I reckon]
I’ve spent years here trying to find out, but i guess ppl don’t trust me enough yet to share it with me.
Regardless, I’m rly grateful for all the free games I’ve gotten here.
Your poor attempt at sarcasm aside, be my guest and buy whatever your heart desires from the Chrono “Daily Deal” section.
I prefer my games completely free.
Based on your replies in this thread.
A. You already made up your mind.
B. No, not really.
Thanks for visiting, please close the door on your way out.