Steam adds a new message on the shopping cart page that warns players they are buying a license and not the game itself.
Some players have reported seeing the new message for the first time and it was first noticed within the past 24 hours. Due to the fact that there have not been many, if any, social media posts about it, it seems like it is relatively new.
New Steam Message
The new message is very brief and says, "A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam." It also provides players with a link they can click to see the full Steam Subscriber Agreement.
The latest change follows Valve's efforts to modify its subscriber agreement last month in order to remove a forced arbitration clause.
The new message may have caught some by surprise but a lot of players most likely knew the reality behind it beforehand, according to PCGamer.
Discussions in the video games community regarding whether or not anyone actually "owns" their games or any other digital content have been going on for years.
For example, one thread from more than a decade ago warned users to read the Steam subscriber agreement carefully.
At the time, user just2n wrote that as nice as Steam is to use, he was not convinced that the company was giving up the right to own things like digital video games. The new message was seemingly put on the shopping cart page due to recent developments.
Steam's change also comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law. The regulation forces digital marketplaces to make it clear to customers that when they buy media, they only purchase a license to that media, IGN said.
Players' Ownership of Digital Products
The new law prohibits online storefronts 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."
It would not apply to storefronts that state in "plain language" that players are actually just licensing the digital content and that it could expire at any time. It would also not apply to products that can be permanently downloaded.
If companies fail to comply with the new law, they could face fines for false advertising if they do not explain in clear language the limitations of a given digital purchase.
The signing of the regulation follows Ubisoft's decision to delete The Crew from players' libraries after it shut down the game's servers, according to Engadget.
