Important Notice from Steam

When you buy a game on Steam, you may realize that you don’t actually own the game. A new update to Steam makes it clear to players that they don’t actually own the games they buy, they’re just buying a license. This is a new perspective on the long-debated concept of ownership in the digital gaming world.

Steam Games Are Licenses, Not Ownership

This new update from Steam tells gamers that their digital purchases are only a license. “The purchase of a digital product grants a license to the product on Steam,” the message reads, making it clear that gamers only have one right to use these games. The same message includes a link to Steam’s subscriber agreement.

This change comes on the heels of a recently passed bill in California. The law mandates that digital content such as music, movies, e-books and video games must be sold only as an access license. Digital storefronts must make it clear that the user is only offered access to these works, not ownership. This law, which will come into force in 2025, aims to make consumers more aware of digital purchases.

California Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin stated that with this law, false and misleading advertising practices of digital media sellers will be prevented and emphasized that the protection of consumer rights is becoming increasingly important.

Will Other Stores Follow Suit?

At the time of writing, Steam was the only digital storefront to display such a warning. Other major platforms, such as the Xbox Store, PlayStation Store and Epic Games Store, have not yet made such an update. However, such warnings are expected to be implemented across all digital storefronts in the future.

Do You Think Digital Ownership is Open Enough?

Do you think such warnings should be widespread for digital game purchases?

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