Steam has begun displaying a new notice in its shopping cart, explicitly clarifying the nature of the transaction: “A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam.” The change is Valve’s way of complying with an incoming California law prohibiting digital marketplaces from implying that customers own the games, movies, ebooks, and other digital content they buy.
This should be a surprise to no one. Buy your games DRM free. The big studios don’t want that so Steam is catering to the big titles.