Gearbox Publishing has made true on its word and begun the process of ending a promotional partnership with G2A after the retailer failed to publicly make a commitment to “protect customers and developers” through policy change.

The developer turned publisher issued an ultimatum to G2A yesterday after a number of concerns with the retailer’s past were brought to Gearbox’s attention. Gearbox shared four changes that G2A would need to make in order for the two companies to continue the partnership and gave the retailer until today's release of the game primarily involved in the deal, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, to comply. 

According to Waypoint, Gearbox now says that G2A has failed to make a public pledge in favor of these four tenets and as such Gearbox’s head of publishing Steve Gibson says the company has “begun executing on our extraction process."

"As there has been no public movement from G2A by the time Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition launched now on PC, Gearbox Publishing will be doing their part to not directly support a marketplace that did not make the new public commitment to protecting customers and developers requested by Gearbox Publishing," said Gibson in a statement to Waypoint.

Following yesterday’s ultimatum, Gamasutra reached out to G2A but was told the company was in the process of talking with Gearbox and would have a statement after the weekend.

UPDATE:  G2A has issued a statement on both the initial reaction to its promotional partnership with Gearbox Publishing and the four policy changes Gearbox requested G2A make last week in order to continue that partnership.

In the full statement, G2A directly addresses each of Gearbox's requests in depth and details how the changes requested have already been a part of its marketplace for some time. That statement can be read in its entirety here, while a summary from G2A is available just below: 

“G2A.COM’s goal is to provide the best possible conditions for both buyers and sellers, while providing the best prices for legal games. We do everything in our power to uphold the best possible relationships with developers and ensure the highest standards in the fight against dishonest sellers.

“At the same time, we respect our critics and believe that they have the good of the industry at heart. Unfortunately, sometimes they do not understand how G2A.COM works and as such this misunderstanding causes them to mislead the public about our company. The best proof of this are the four ultimatums formulated in part by John Bain, which, it turns out that were completely unnecessary as all of the issues raised have long been a part of the G2A.COM marketplace. 

“Most of the allegations levied against us are based on both a lack of knowledge, and a lack of desire to learn the other side of the story. The best example of this is quoting false and defamatory statements while ignoring the facts. This is why we constantly emphasize that we are open to meetings and discussions with anyone who has doubts about how our marketplace works.”