Bartosz Skwarczek on G2A.COM, gaming, and cybersecurity

Being an entrepreneur has been my dream since high school. I wanted to prove that there are no limits and everything is possible. I was determined and hungry for success, for growth, and for life. I wanted to show people and prove that no matter where you are from, you can succeed with enough motivation and personal growth. 

When I founded G2A.COM in a small office in Poland 13 years ago, we were just a handful of people with big dreams and even bigger ambitions. First an online store, later a marketplace, we wanted to become the best source for people to get their games from. We are opening the Gate 2 Adventure, inviting all to the world of digital entertainment and guiding them through it in a safe and secure way.

So many. Changing the business model to a marketplace in 2014, which allows us to scale faster and be closer to the customers; breaking our record of having over 225 million visits per year in 2022; being classified with Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and AliExpress as a top 10 global cross-border marketplace operating in Europe in 2020; and winning the prestigious Merchant Team of the Year at the CNP (Card Not Present) Awards 2021 for having the best anti fraud experts and solutions in the world.

One of the biggest challenges in our business model is localisation. We’re a global marketplace operating in over 180 countries, but at the same time, we have to offer very localised user experiences. One of the many things we did to achieve this was by integrating over 200 payment methods from all over the world, since it’s not always just credit cards, WeChat, or PayPal. Secondly, we are running local marketing campaigns and partnering with local brands. We are also building an international team of experts to catch local perspectives and have the knowledge about the local specifics. That way we are realising ‘think globally, act locally’ to a maximum extent.

Another challenge from our mission is to democratise digital entertainment. People think that gaming is only for children, but that’s not true. The average age of gamers in the world is around 30. We have customers of all ages including the elderly, that's why we create the largest selection of offerings in the digital world where everybody can find something for themselves. We also want to break the stereotypes about gaming, for instance, on health. Gaming has many benefits when it comes to developing concentration, strategic and creative thinking, decision making, prosocial behaviour, and learning new languages. Studies have shown that video games can positively influence the development of the brain’s grey matter, which improves problem-solving skills and strategic thinking.

Safety has been the top priority of G2A.COM from the very beginning, it’s super important. 3.6 percent of frauds occur in general e-commerce transactions, the rate for G2A is only 0.39 percent, making us almost 10 times better than the average. 

The selling process is crucial. Four years ago, we transitioned from an individual to business seller system. Before that anyone could sell on G2A.COM, but now if you want to sell on our platform, you have to undergo both AI and human verifications. We carefully examine over 100 parameters, including a KYC (Know Your Customer) and anti-money laundering process. All the documents and invoices have to be submitted. As a customer-centric company, we have observed an improvement in the quality of both the offerings and sellers and a better user experience following the shift.

Our internal cyber defence team also constantly improves the existing AI-supported solutions.  External leading security service providers, like Ravelin and Justt, provide us tools and solutions to protect the customers throughout the entire buying journey.

Many young talents make up the gaming and digital entertainment industry, including women game creators whom we promote on our marketplace. We care about diversity and empower those who are brave and can think outside the box, just like us at G2A.COM. This summer, we  partnered with Papaya New Directors, a contest for young, talented creators. One of them, Jan Dybus, directed our latest campaign video, which features an international cast. 

We also support young people’s educational process through the G2A Academy project. It helps teachers and students in using gaming as an educational tool. 

And it turns out gaming can inspire great sports talents too. In September, we announced a partnership with the Drift Masters, a popular motorsport series. Many of the drivers actually started their careers with racing video games.

Project Zomboid. It’s a game about zombies and over 250K items have been sold this year. Steam and PlayStation gift cards are popular too. But this game [Project Zomboid] is the most popular for 2023.

For many reasons. One of them is to be physically present in Asia. For us, Hong Kong is a gateway to Asia. It’s a highly established and mature city, particularly in terms of finance, gaming, and law perspectives. It’s very stable and acts as a gateway to Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and of course, Greater China.

G2A.COM is built on core values that include accountability, trust, growth, communication, and teamwork. I always say, “Let’s build a company that we want to work in, and that is rooted in our values.” We fully embrace our startup nature and foster a culture of accommodating feedback. If you see something that needs to be improved, you can share it. The best idea wins here, so it doesn't matter if you’re the CEO or the junior employee. We are people-oriented, which enables us to attract  the best talents to G2A.COM. 

We also place a significant emphasis on diversity. We do not concern ourselves with your sex, gender, race, culture, or age. Our focus lies solely on who you are as an individual, your passion, values, and ideas. At G2A.COM, 40 percent of our employees and nearly 50 percent of our board members are women, which is exceptionally rare in the gaming industry.

I first played Mortal Kombat in 1994 and also the racing game Gran Turismo. These two are my favourites. Nowadays, I don’t play them as often, but sometimes I play with family and friends. Sitting and playing together – gaming is actually bringing people together to have some fun, to talk, to laugh; and you can do that with consoles or PCs.

It’s on the path to open the Gate 2 Adventure. Firstly, it’s about adventure – embarking on this journey to the digital world together. Secondly, we’re ensuring that we do it in a safe way. 

We’re definitely expanding our brand with new campaigns centred around diversity and our values. We are also focusing on markets such as the United States, Spain, and Southeast Asia, aiming to establish a local presence with both buyers and sellers, while also expanding the range of offerings on our marketplace. Furthermore, we have a very exciting project in the pipeline about the next stage of the Internet, Web3.