Steambits takes bitcoins for games

Bitcoins are now being accepted for videogames, courtesy of a service called Steambits.

The web site was launched last month by developer Ryan Connors, a lover of videogames, who wanted to offer a way to purchase them using the cryptocurrency. The web site is effectively a video game resale service. The customer pays for a game in bitcoins, and Connors then purchases it from the relevant party in US dollars, sending it to the customer within 24 hours.

The site started by offering games from Steam, the online videogaming portal, which sells games to users via online download. However, it has since expanded to include other, non-Steam games too, including codes for downloading games for the XBox 360.

The site hit a speed bump on May 5, when Steam noticed what was happening. “We had some (semi-anticipated) issues with Steam once we hit a certain volume of sales,” Connors posted in a support thread on Bitcointalk. The site was down for a time, but then continued with a limited selection, but has now expanded again.

The site is a good example of how goods not normally purchasable with bitcoin can be manually purchased as a service. The service provider can then make money from movements in bitcoin pricing.

Connors has also been offering several games at prices below Steam’s US dollar pricing. His methods are unclear, although gamers have been known to purchase games from different geographies, taking advantage of differences in regional pricing.