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 has always been the case and isn’t news. They’re just putting it right in front of you before you hit the buy button.
It is news that they are now describing the transaction more accurately, once again thanks to California.
At this point, unless you can put it on a thumb drive and run it on any computer you meet without Internet connection…
You don’t own it.
Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked if there was some “remote kill” built into those local installers. For all you know it might delete itself on a particular date.
I’ll still but from Steam. Hopefully people second guess things elsewhere now.
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.
Whoopdy-fuck. If they take away my games then I’ll take away my money-spending-with-them ability and just get all my games for free
