How to Gift a Video Game from the Humble Bundle and Humble Store

The Humble Bundle started off as an online service, helping promote indie video games by "bundling" several games together as a limited-time package deal and donating part of the funds to charity.

The kicker, though, was that gamers could choose how much to pay for the bundle. Even 1 cent would purchase games, but if a gamer paid more than the average of what previous customers had paid, he or she would unlock an extra game or two as well.

Now the Humble Bundle holds weekly sales as well as larger promotional events, and has opened a store where gamers can browse a large collection of games. 

MORE: How to Buy and Download Games Online

All three purchasing options — Humble Bundle, Humble Weekly Sale and Humble Store — are great places to buy computer games, either for yourself or as a gift.

Gift-giving from the Humble Bundle and Humble Weekly Sale

What you see is what you get with the limited-time Humble Bundle and the Humble Weekly Sale, but if the current bundle appeals to you, then begin the purchasing process as normal.

Remember to check what the current average payment is, because that's the minimum you'll need to pay to unlock the full bundle. To pay that amount, select "Custom Amount" and enter it in.

Then at the bottom of the page, you'll see the words "Is this order a gift?" Check the box beneath it. When you make your purchase, instead of the games themselves, you'll receive a URL you can send to the person for whom you're buying the gift. By clicking the link, the giftee will be able to download the games.

Gift-giving from the Humble Store

Once you've browsed the store's selection and put the games you wish to purchase into your cart, click the "Cart" button in the upper right. Check the box next to the words "Gift purchase" and then choose your payment option.

As with the Humble Bundle and Humble Weekly Sales, you'll then receive a URL that you can send to the person to whom you wish to give the games.

Email jscharr@techmedianetwork.com or follow her @JillScharr and Google+.  Follow us @TomsGuide, on Facebook and on Google+.

Jill Scharr is a creative writer and narrative designer in the videogame industry. She's currently Project Lead Writer at the games studio Harebrained Schemes, and has also worked at Bungie. Prior to that she worked as a Staff Writer for Tom's Guide, covering video games, online security, 3D printing and tech innovation among many subjects.