Steam, a digital PC game store, now says you’re buying a license to a game and not a product, not long after California signed a new law requiring digital stores to make this change.
While the new law, AB 2426, won’t go into effect until 2025 – Steam has made the change already to their global digital store, the largest digital PC game on the planet.
“A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam,” the new disclaimer says when making purchases on the platform. The disclaimer also has a link to the Steam subscriber Terms & Conditions.
The new law will prohibit online stores from using the words “buy, purchase, or any other term which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good or alongside an option for a time-limited rental.”
The law won’t apply to stores that say in “plain language” that you’re just buying a license to digital content and that the license can expire at any time – or to digital products that can be permanently downloaded. Any storefronts that are found in violation of the law will be fined for false advertising.
Get a full look at the new disclaimer below:
Now that Steam has changed their verbiage to legally protect themselves when California’s law goes into effect, it’s only a matter of time when all the other digital marketplaces change their disclaimers to say you’re buying licenses, not products.
Coming from this, it’s worth reiterating the new California law only requires digital storefronts to tell you the truth: you’re buying a license, not a product. The law does not prevent companies from revoking your license at any time, and your access to the license is not legally protected as property.