Steam users left in shock after gaming library worth thousands has disappeared
VIDEO games are steadily turning into a digital only medium, with reportedly up to 95% of game purchases made digitally rather than physically.
This has brought up the question of how much of our video games we actually own, as digital games can be removed by the publisher at any point.
This rarely happens, but there is a recent case where Ubisoft removed The Crew from people’s libraries after shutting down the game, rendering it unplayable.
With the increasing price of games, many people have gaming libraries worth thousands contained within their gaming accounts.
One of the most popular platforms is Steam, and one user contacted support asking if they could pass on their account to a loved one in a will after their death.
The response from Steam posted to reads: “Unfortunately, Steam accounts and games are non-transferable.
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“Steam Support cannot provide someone else with access to the account, or merge contents with another account.
“I regret to inform you that your Steam account cannot be transferred via a will.”
This is a statement reiterated in the Steam user agreement which reads: “You may not reveal, share, or otherwise allow others to use your password or Account except as otherwise specifically authorised by Valve.”
One of the exceptions “specifically authorised by Valve” is as part of Steam Family Sharing.
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Steam users can share their accounts with up to five people or ten devices, allowing them to play from the same library of games.
Despite this, the email has brought into focus how our digital gaming libraries aren’t really our property, and can be taken away from us.
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