Valve’s digital distribution platform, Steam, has updated its policy with a clear warning that buying digital games will only grant users a license.
While performing a transaction on Steam, users are now greeted with a message that offers a clear warning about the purchase of digital games only granting a license and not complete ownership. It further refers to the terms and conditions mentioned in the Steam Subscriber Agreement, which has been updated to reflect the same information.
As per the terms and conditions, Steam users are entitled to use the platform’s Content and Services for their own personal use, but they are not entitled to sell, grant a security interest in or transfer reproductions of the Content and Services to other parties in any way, nor to rent, lease or license the Content and Services to others without the prior written consent of Valve, except to the extent expressly permitted elsewhere in the Steam Subscriber Agreement.
This isn’t something new, as all game purchases across all platforms entitle the buyer to a license and not complete ownership of their copy. Digital games have made this more apparent as compared to physical copies sold at store shelves. It does raise a question mark regarding game preservation, however.
Despite digital purchases only offering a license and not complete ownership of games, Steam continues to expand its library of software. According to SteamDB, 2023 saw the release of 14,531 titles on Steam, breaking last year’s record of 12,562 titles by nearly 2000 games. On average, this amounts to a total of 1,170 games released per month on the platform. Things aren’t looking to slow down any time soon. As of writing, we’re only a day into 2024, and a total of 43 new games have already been released on Steam. Based on past trends, the platform has seen a greater number of new releases almost each year since 2010, with the only exception being 2019.
