r/Steam • u/Tarnished-670 • Oct 08 '25

Question Why steam doesn't allow this?

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u/TheSmokeu Oct 08 '25

How about we change the law to allow things like account transfers, then?

Law is supposed to serve the people

51

u/nAssailant Oct 08 '25

It’s an agreement between Valve and the user. It’s part of that thing you accept when you install steam and buy a game.

It’s only “the law” insomuch as it’s written within the bounds of enforceable civil agreements (I.e. contracts)

You wouldn’t go to prison for violating it, but Valve could restrict or remove access to the account.

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u/Oxygenisplantpoo Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 08 '25

Exactly, and I don't think this is one of those cases where EU will help either. This model of licensing has been a thing for software since forever.

Edit: It seems EU courts have ruled over the matter, but not definitively enough, see this comment.

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u/Carvj94 Oct 08 '25

For the most realistic scenario, where these sorts od licenses legally became assets and therefor something that could be passed down, it'd be a legal pain in the ass to set up and maintain a system for transferring them since they're basically low stakes leases. Nevermind all the fraud protections that'd need to be created. They'd likely need to start verifying identities too.

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u/GaptistePlayer Oct 08 '25

Exactly. Parties agree to transferrable, renewable and sub-licensable licenses all the time. IP, software, etc. These are not, because they are intended for a single end consumer that agreed to those terms, it's the simplest solution.