On digital product shops, two formats coexist for one and the same game or piece of software: the individual activation key and the account provided. They do not give you the same rights, nor the same security over time. Here are the differences, without the gloss.
The individual activation key
You receive a key that you activate on your own account: Steam, Microsoft, Ubisoft, whichever publisher’s platform applies. The product then joins your personal library.
- The product is yours within your account, subject to the platform’s terms.
- You keep your username, your friends, your saves, your achievements and your existing library.
- You choose your own password and two-factor authentication.
- You depend on no third party for future access.
It is the simplest and the most durable format. It is the one we recommend in the vast majority of cases.
The “account provided” product
Here you do not receive a key: you receive the credentials of a third-party account on which the game or software is already installed. You sign in with that account to use the product. In our catalogue these items carry the words “(account provided)” directly in their title — for instance among the products in the Steam category.
The format exists because it allows a lower price, particularly on recent titles or on content that is not otherwise available. It also has real limits.
The limits of a provided account
- The product does not join your library. You play or work from the account provided, not from your own. Your friends, your cloud saves and your personal achievements stay on your usual account.
- Platform terms of service tightly restrict account transfers. The Steam Subscriber Agreement states that an account is strictly personal and may not be sold, charged to third parties or transferred without Valve’s express authorisation.
- The platform can suspend the account. No seller, ourselves included, can prevent that or guarantee long-term access.
- You do not fully control the account. Changing the e-mail address or enabling two-factor authentication in your own name is usually impossible or inadvisable.
- No onward resale. What you buy is not a licence in your name.
This is not scaremongering: plenty of accounts work for a long time without incident. But the risk is not zero, it is structural, and you should know about it before you pay.
What our legal notice says
We did not wait for this guide to put it in writing. Our Legal Notice page, under “Sale of third-party accounts”, states that this type of product may be subject to the terms of use of the platform concerned, that CHKey does not guarantee ongoing access to the account in the event of action by the publisher, and that use of this type of product is at the buyer’s own responsibility. The same text recommends choosing an individual activation key if in doubt. Where the law stands on reselling licences more generally is covered in Are cheap licence keys legal in Switzerland?
The middle ground: a key tied to an account
Not to be confused with a shared account: some licences, mainly from Microsoft, are registered permanently in your Microsoft account at first activation. These are known as account-tied keys or bind keys. They are individual keys: in your name, in your own account space, and they make reinstalling easier. The only constraint is to decide from the start which account you will keep. The different formats are compared in our guide OEM or retail key.
How to choose
- You want to keep the product long term, play with your friends or work on your own files: individual key.
- It is professional software or a work machine: individual key, no discussion.
- You want to try a title cheaply, knowing and accepting the limits above: an account provided may suit you.
- You are hesitating: take the individual key. A price difference can be made up; a suspended account cannot.
How to tell which is which on our site
The format is stated in the item title and in its description. We do not hide that information, and we never present an account provided as a key. If anything is unclear before you order, write to us at support@chkey.ch: we will tell you exactly what the product contains. See also our FAQ and our Terms and Conditions of Sale.