Surely you've ever wondered what will happen to your game library when you die. If you have a collection in physical format, it is possible to give them to family or friends, sell them, or ultimately donate them for preservation. With digital stores things change, since If you die, your Steam account could go to the grave with you.
According to a report from Ars Technical user asked Valve if it was possible transfer ownership of a Steam account through a will. A support representative responded that it was not possible, since the rules state that accounts or games are not transferable.
“Steam Support cannot provide another person with account access or merge your content with another account. I regret to inform you that your Steam account cannot be transferred through a will,” the employee mentioned. “Your account is yours and yours alone. You may share it with family members, but you may not give it away.”
The Steam Subscriber Agreement mentions that accounts and all linked information are strictly personal. Users are not permitted to sell it, charge for its use, or transfer it in any other way. These terms were designed to combat the sale or transfer of accounts on the black market, an action that results in an automatic suspension.
Digital games are not entirely yours
Many people think that paying for a video game or digital movie makes them owners of that content. Unlike physical games, which are governed by a principle that allows them to be sold or transferred to a third party, digital games are in a different category.
The end user license agreements for these digital downloads state that you are not buying the game, but a license to play it. The terms may change between companies and services, but they agree on one point: are not transferable. Considering that Steam is a digital-based store, there is no way to change this concept.
The good news is that the Steam Subscriber Agreement does not include any section related to the death of the owner. Valve will never know if the person playing is the same person who bought the product, since it has no way to check if you are still alive. In theory, it would be possible to inherit your Steam account to one of your family members with proper warning that they are violating the terms of use.
With PlayStation and Xbox it is similar: As long as you do not report the death of the owner, anyone can use the account. Both companies' service agreements determine that content cannot be transferred or merged with another account. In case of Xbox It is somewhat more extreme, since it will close the account due to inactivity after two years or when the death is reported.
The European Union could change everything
Although licenses are not transferable, a 2012 ruling by the European Court of Justice could pave the way for you to inherit your Steam account upon death. In Used Soft GmbH v. Oracle, the Court determined that a Software author cannot oppose the resale of his “used” licenses of programs downloaded from the Internet.
When the copyright owner makes a copy (tangible or intangible) available to its customer and at the same time enters into, in exchange for payment of a fee, a license agreement that grants the customer the right to use that copy for an unlimited period, that rights holder sells the copy to the customer and thus exhausts his exclusive right of distribution. Such a transaction implies a transfer of the right of ownership of the copy.
Therefore even if the license agreement prohibits a new transfer, the right holder can no longer object to the resale of that copy.
In a hypothetical case, when inheriting an account It should be verified that the owner will no longer have access to the game library. The 2012 ruling holds that separate agreements are not transferred to the person who acquires the digital copy.
The case is complex and would require a thorough analysis. Another relevant detail is that each game has a separate licensing agreement, just like subscriptions to Game Pass or PSN Plus.
What happens to your Steam account when you die?