Invalid CD Key Error - Resolution -

[MS Ryz0n]

There is a current CD key issue affecting some recent purchases for Age of Empires III: Complete Collection

Issue:

When launching Age of Empires III - some users receive "Invalid CD Key" after entering the Steam provided CD key

Affects:

Certain copies of Age of Empires III: Complete Collection purchased on / after Sunday 1/8/2012 and prior to 1/11/2012

Temporary Work-Around:

See Resolution Below Right click on Age of Empires III:Complete Collection in your steam library and select "Play: Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties". Everything except for Multiplayer mode may be played (including campaigns from AOEIII and The War Chiefs).

Resolution: (Updated 1/10/12)

We have identified which CD keys are affected and have worked with Valve to provide replacement keys to the users experiencing this issue.
If you received an invalid CD key please do the following at this time:

• Right click on Age of Empires III in your Steam Library
• Select "Properties"
• In the window that pops up, select the "Local Files" tab
• Select "Verify Integrity of Game Cache..."

You should receive a new CD key in your system that will be available the next time you launch Age of Empires III.

Thank you for your patience as we dealt with the issue - we apologize for the inconvenience.





Archived Updates


*Update - 1/9/2012*
We are currently waiting for the keys to be produced and verified internally. Once this happens they will be provided to valve to distribution to users.

Thank you all for your patience, and hopefully I can shed a little bit of light on the situation. Initially we produced a large batch of keys for the game for steam, which get distributed to users upon purchase. Unfortunately it appears that at a certain point in the batch, a portion of the CD keys distributed somehow were bad. We're investigating internally what exactly caused the issue. At this time we have determined all users affected by the bad keys and if your CD key is invalid at this time, please rest assured you will be receiving a replacement.

In the meantime a replacement set of CD Keys is being made for the affected users and re-run through the system to verify the validity end to end. As soon as the keys are created and verified, we'll be getting them to valve to provide to you. These keys will provide full game access. Unfortunately the process is not instantaneous and does take time.

Again I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience and am working with the teams here to get the bad keys replaced as quickly as possible. I will continue to update this thread with additional information when available.


*Update - 1/10/2012*
New keys for affected users have been created, tested, and verified - and are on their way to Steam. Once steam is able to get them into their system and updated for the affected users we will let you know! We're almost there =]

[neglectoru]

By "some recent purchases", I assume you mean this is an ongoing problem.

I just purchased about 15 minutes ago, and had this problem - Invalid CD key

Will new keys be issued to all users who encounter problems?

[MS Ryz0n]

Originally Posted by neglectoru

By "some recent purchases", I assume you mean this is an ongoing problem.

I just purchased about 15 minutes ago, and had this problem - Invalid CD key

Will new keys be issued to all users who encounter problems?

Yes, it will.

[babeslayer66]

Invalid CD key here too.

[DirtyHarry50]

I tried the temporary work around and it started up fine but when I choose single player I see three campaign choices that I think are all Asian Dynasties? I couldn't figure out how to begin with the first game.

Unfortunately, my CD key is no good either. I just bought the game a few minutes ago. Will we get some message here informing us when new keys show up for us in Steam so I know to try again inputting the corrected key I should be getting?

Lastly, an ETA would be nice. I'd like to just fire up the original game and play. Thanks.

[MS Ryz0n]

Originally Posted by DirtyHarry50

I tried the temporary work around and it started up fine but when I choose single player I see three campaign choices that I think are all Asian Dynasties? I couldn't figure out how to begin with the first game.

Unfortunately, my CD key is no good either. I just bought the game a few minutes ago. Will we get some message here informing us when new keys show up for us in Steam so I know to try again inputting the corrected key I should be getting?

Lastly, an ETA would be nice. I'd like to just fire up the original game and play. Thanks.

So, the first campaign you see "Blood Ice and Steel" is the campaign from the core game. The second is from TWC, and the third is unique to TAD. I hope that makes sense.

The redistribution of working keys to the affected users is done through valve, unfortunately I don't know the specifics of how that works (if you'll get an email or if a different key will just appear in your steam account).

In regards to an ETA - Our goal is to get them to you asap. I'm confident we have determined the route that needs to be taken in order to resolve the issue, and it's just getting everything in place from the different teams. I feel optimistic that there's a good chance we'll potentially have them to you tomorrow (Monday) sometime if everything goes smoothly. I will continue to update tomorrow as I get more information.
You have all been awesome so far and patient, and I will do my best to repay that patience with as much information as I can.

[jamieoscar]

Thanks for the heads up, Thought I was going blind when I couldn't get my key to work for the 5th time =p

[Togsy]

How will we receive these new codes? Will it be through a steam mail or e-mail?

[heffebaycay]

Originally Posted by Togsy

How will we receive these new codes? Will it be through a steam mail or e-mail?

Valve will most likely silently change the key registered to your Steam account. I don't think you will receive any notification either via email or Steam IM. What matters here is that, as Ryz0n said, you won't have to do anything to fix the issue.

[Picchia]

Originally Posted by heffebaycay

Valve will most likely silently change the key registered to your Steam account. I don't think you will receive any notification either via email or Steam IM. What matters here is that, as Ryz0n said, you won't have to do anything to fix the issue.

Alright, so I assume that if I purchase the game now, put it in my backlog and play it in a month or two, then I won't notice a thing.

[waterwizz22]

I bought two copies to play over lan. What time frame is to be expected before I can play the game with my wife? I was greatly looking forward to playing it this week. Oh I see maybe Monday, which is today. I should have read more closely. Thank you.

[Felixlynch777]

Invalid CD key here as well, I bought it on Saturday though.

[DirtyHarry50]

Originally Posted by MS Ryz0n

So, the first campaign you see "Blood Ice and Steel" is the campaign from the core game. The second is from TWC, and the third is unique to TAD. I hope that makes sense.

The redistribution of working keys to the affected users is done through valve, unfortunately I don't know the specifics of how that works (if you'll get an email or if a different key will just appear in your steam account).

In regards to an ETA - Our goal is to get them to you asap. I'm confident we have determined the route that needs to be taken in order to resolve the issue, and it's just getting everything in place from the different teams. I feel optimistic that there's a good chance we'll potentially have them to you tomorrow (Monday) sometime if everything goes smoothly. I will continue to update tomorrow as I get more information.
You have all been awesome so far and patient, and I will do my best to repay that patience with as much information as I can.

Thanks very much. I wondered later on if that was the case, that there are three main campaigns to choose from initially. Thanks for clearing that up. Thanks also for following up with the keys issue and keeping us posted. It's much appreciated.

[F-S-K]

Just wanted to pop in to say that I am affected by this as well, but I purchased back on Friday. Only just had bandwidth to download and try the game today, but couldn't get it to recognize the CD key.

Would appreciate a timely resolution.

[Vulkanit]

Have purchased just an hour ago!!! Got that problem.