Valve: You Don't Own Anything on Steam

[Pete Dero]

Games on Steam are not owned, but rather are licensed to users, who do not actually own anything.

New version of the Steam agreement : https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/

Steam and your Subscription(s) require the download and installation of Content and Services onto your computer. Valve hereby grants, and you accept, a non-exclusive license and right, to use the Content and Services for your personal, non-commercial use (except where commercial use is expressly allowed herein or in the applicable Subscription Terms). This license ends upon termination of (a) this Agreement or (b) a Subscription that includes the license. The Content and Services are licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Content and Services. To make use of the Content and Services, you must have a Steam Account and you may be required to be running the Steam client and maintaining a connection to the Internet.

[ArizonaTank]

Games on Steam are not owned, but rather are licensed to users, who do not actually own anything.

New version of the Steam agreement : https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/

Steam and your Subscription(s) require the download and installation of Content and Services onto your computer. Valve hereby grants, and you accept, a non-exclusive license and right, to use the Content and Services for your personal, non-commercial use (except where commercial use is expressly allowed herein or in the applicable Subscription Terms). This license ends upon termination of (a) this Agreement or (b) a Subscription that includes the license. The Content and Services are licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Content and Services. To make use of the Content and Services, you must have a Steam Account and you may be required to be running the Steam client and maintaining a connection to the Internet.

Not surprised. I think at some point in the future, Steam will move to a subscription fee. They will start low...so as to keep the inevitable rebellion low...say $5 per month. But at some point, Steam becomes just another "streaming" service. This clarification opens the way for that.

GOG looks more tempting every day.

[al_infierno]

Hasn't that always essentially been the case?  I wonder why they're just now clarifying this in writing?

[Pete Dero]

Hasn't that always essentially been the case?  I wonder why they're just now clarifying this in writing?

This is new :



The biggest digital store for PC games on the planet, Steam, has updated its interface to include a disclaimer warning people that buying a game doesn't mean you "own" it in the traditional sense.

A new banner on the site states, "A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam." This is part of the terms and conditions of the Steam Subscriber Agreement.

The introduction of this disclaimer follows new legislation from the state of California requiring digital storefronts--covering games, movies, music, and ebooks--to clarify licensing terms to customers. The law comes as questions have arisen in recent years regarding what "ownership" means in a world increasingly dominated by digital products.

"As retailers continue to pivot away from selling physical media, the need for consumer protections on the purchase of digital media has become increasingly more important," California Assembly member Jacqui Irwin said in a press release.

California's law is set to go into effect in 2025, but it appears Steam is getting ahead of it by issuing the disclaimer now. Presumably other digital storefronts for games will follow at some point in the future.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam-now-makes-it-clearer-what-youre-really-buying/1100-6527127/

[Jarhead0331]

There is a new disclaimer, for sure, but the concept that games purchased on steam are licensed as opposed to being owned, is hardly new. Of this, I'm fairly certain.

So, they've extracted the fine print and simplified it for the masses, but I'm pretty sure the relationship and rights of the consumer have not been changed.

[Pete Dero]

GOG has some fun at the expense of rival store Steam :

Since checkout banners are trending, we're thinking of putting one up ourselves. Thoughts on this one?

[Redwolf]

GOG has some fun at the expense of rival store Steam :

Since checkout banners are trending, we're thinking of putting one up ourselves. Thoughts on this one?

It's still just a license, but they commit that it can't be taken from you. At least not from a technical standpoint.

[Staggerwing]

It's certainly much closer to how it was in the old days, where you bought a game on physical floppy and it was yours to keep, or lose, say if your dog chews it up, as the case may be.

Only difference is that while GOG continues to do business and still holds the right to distribute your game they will have a backup for you.

[Vox]

Not surprised. I think at some point in the future, Steam will move to a subscription fee. They will start low...so as to keep the inevitable rebellion low...say $5 per month. But at some point, Steam becomes just another "streaming" service. This clarification opens the way for that.

GOG looks more tempting every day.

Or to reduce legal entanglement as a prelude to transfer of ownership

[Pete Dero]

The system at work :

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/humble-bundles-revoked-all-those-indiana-jones-keys-it-gave-away-for-free-even-if-it-was-already-in-your-steam-library/

If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is, especially if the item in question is a digital key for a brand-new game that can be swiped away using DRM witchcraft just as swiftly as it can be activated. That's what happened with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which Humble Bundle had labelled as 'free' two days ago, prompting a good number of people to pounce on the irresistible bargain.

Sadly, Humble Bundle has now revoked all those keys, releasing a statement saying that "due to a mistake in the provided pricing for this game, the game was incorrectly marked as 'free.'" In a move that's understandable but also reminds us of the ethereal nature of digital ownership, Humble not only deactivated the Steam keys it had given away, but revoked the game even after it had already been activated in players' Steam librarie

But in Indiana Jones' case, those keys are just licenses to play the game under the Steam Subscriber Agreement, and as we can see, you don't have that much control if a seller or publisher decides they don't want you playing that game on Steam.

[ArizonaTank]

This bubbling issue has changed my actions somewhat.

I have been tending to gravitate more towards GOG, WDS and Matrix/Slitherine (site sale not from Steam).