What you buy is the right to use it, not the game itself
Recently, Steam quietly added a new policy notice to the shopping cart page, telling players that the digital games they purchased were only "licensing rights" and did not actually own the permanent rights to the game.
This change may be in response to California's new law AB 2426, which will be implemented in 2025, which requires digital platforms to clearly inform consumers that they are purchasing an access license, not owning the game itself.
The AB 2426 bill was signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill addresses a series of controversies such as the removal of digital game content and server shutdown in recent years. It covers digital products such as games, music, movies, and e-books.
The AB 2426 bill stipulates that when digital platforms sell these content, if it is not a "permanent download", they must clearly inform consumers that they are actually only purchasing access rights, rather than owning the physical or permanent rights to the content, allowing players to more Clearly understand the rights and interests you are purchasing. If the platform fails to comply, you may face fines for false advertising.
(The Crew) Incident: Digital game removal caused ownership dispute
One of the reasons behind this change on Steam may be related to the Ubisoft (The Crew) incident. The game developer Ubisoft removed the game from the shelves this year and shut down the servers, resulting in a large number of players being unable to continue using the game. Content, past records, and money spent on purchasing the game cannot be retrieved, leaving players deeply disappointed.
This situation has become more and more common. Players have lost ownership of many games after their servers have been terminated. Similar issues have triggered a lot of discussion and controversy: Do digital games really belong to players?
Ownership of Digital Games: Licensing vs. Owning
As digital purchases gradually replace physical purchases, the gaming industry is facing the issue of player ownership. Although this purchase model is already common in the digital market, this legal push has made players more aware that digital games do not It's like owning a physical game.
For example, on many platforms, when players purchase the physical version of a game, they can still install and play it from a disc regardless of whether the server is shut down in the future, while the digital version of the game may be lost due to server termination or game removal. No further use is possible, which makes the ownership of digital content unclear.
Reflections on Web3 Games
With the implementation of AB 2426, the issue of ownership of digital games will be further discussed and regulated. For the field of blockchain games (Web3 games) that prides itself on giving players ownership, how can ownership be not limited to props in the game? , but "really owning it" may be one of the goals we can strive for in the future.
For players, understanding what games they are buying and adjusting their expectations for digital games will become important considerations for future purchasing behavior. As game streaming and digital content continue to become mainstream, the blurred lines of ownership will It may become a key issue in the future development of the game market.
