Steam admits that you don't own any games

[delaine]

Valve updated Steam’s shopping carts to notify users that they’re only buying a “license” for the game, not the game itself.

You don’t own any games on your Steam library. It’s as true now as it was when Valve’s now-massive digital storefront went live in 2003. Now, Steam is making the fact explicit every time you buy a game. Valve added a new message in your shopping cart before you hit “continue to payment” that you’re only getting a license to play the game on Steam and not a copy of the game itself.

The full message appears below Steam’s shopping cart page’s “continue to payment” option. It reads, “A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam” and then links to Steam’s Subscriber Agreement. Essentially, Steam has repeatedly reiterated this about game ownership on Valve’s platform, but now it’s made explicit every time you buy a new game.

IGN first reported Steam’s store notice. It’s likely connected to a new law in California that requires digital marketplaces to notify customers when they purchase a license for media rather than owning a copy themselves. The law, named AB 2426, requires that online shops provide in plain language “that buying or purchasing the digital good is a license” and include a link to the company’s terms and conditions.

 

[Ravenfreak]

This is why I always prefer physical games to digital ones. This is also why I get consoles so I can own physical copies of games. If all consoles go digital, I will be done with modern gaming and only get a few select games from franchises I love like Sonic and Pokemon. I have a huge backlog of games as is already.