Just In Case You Thought You Actually Own Those Steam Games, Their New Disclaimer Puts That Idea To Rest

It doesn’t seem out of line to say that anyone who uses Steam – or most digital media platforms for that matter – is probably aware that the money they give the platform doesn’t actually purchase a real item from them. How would they when what you purchase requires the platform to even be usable? Instead, they purchase a license that says you have access to that item so long as you’re using the platform and the platform continues to have a deal with the creator of the product. Should one of these things change, the item is no longer accessible.

That means that our Steam libraries aren’t actually ours, no matter how much money we’ve spent on them. As I said, I think we all knew that.

If, however, you didn’t know that – or maybe didn’t want to believe it – Valve has decided to clear the matter up for you. Now, when purchasing an item via Steam, a message will pop up saying, “A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam.” They apparently want it to be very clear that you’re just purchasing the license.

Interestingly, as PC Gamer points out, this change follows Valve removing the forced arbitration clause from its subscriber agreement. It seems possible they might have determined people might want to start litigation over what it is they’re actually paying for on the platform and decided to get ahead of it. Although, it could simply be Valve complying with a new law from California that requires these platforms to warn consumers about how licensing works.

That said, not all platforms are made equal and GOG wants everyone to know that. In response to the discussion about disclaimers they shared a picture of one of their own which states: “A purchase of a digital product on GOG grants you its Offline Installers, which cannot be taken away from you,” but then, one of GOG’s selling points has long been DRM-free games.

Since checkout banners are trending, we're thinking of putting one up ourselves. Thoughts on this one? pic.twitter.com/d3y66PrL7Q

— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) October 11, 2024