Discussion Steam not transferable after death

[GodisanAtheist]

Valve confirms your Steam account cannot be transferred to anyone after you die

The confirmation came from the Steam support staff earlier this month when Resetera forum user delete12345 asked Steam support if he can put his Steam library in...

www.techspot.com

I don't think this really comes as a shock to anyone.

As I commented in the attached article, I have taken pains to really slow down my purchasing and turned to actually playing the games I already own, which already seems like too much.

Also, the idea that your kids or grandkids are going to go back and play the 4000 games you bought that even you don't want to play is kinda a hoot as well.

 

[Artorias]

How enforceable is it really though?

Are they going start deactivating accounts after 100 years or something? I'm fairly certain you are also legally allowed to sell your account to another person, someone correct me on this.

 

[Stg-Flame]

How enforceable is it really though?

Are they going start deactivating accounts after 100 years or something? I'm fairly certain you are also legally allowed to sell your account to another person, someone correct me on this.

They'd have to go by either a time limit or someone being stupid enough to submit a death certificate in order to get their account removed. If Steam is still going strong in 2102, then I'll start worrying about the future of my games but until my account turns 100, I'm not putting any effort into anything that article has to say. Given the dangerous nature of where I work, I already made sure my account won't drift off into limbo so if I die, the people close to me already have my login information and they ain't no narcs.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I can just imagine the reading of a will.
To my heirs I leave my Steam account. What is steam? It's my library of over 5,000 games. The sacred passcode and credentials are listed herein. I have taken great discretion through the years to cultivate this vast collection of games. I bequeath my sacred username and password. I have taken the liberty of removing my Steam 2-factor verification so there will be obstacles preventing thousands of gaming hours of enjoyment. The only caveat, you must assume my steam identity until the end of time.

 

[mikeymikec]

While my default stance on such topics would always be inclined towards user rights, I'm wondering just how relevant the topic is going to be.

For example: in the next twenty years we might (at least as far as gaming is concerned) see the death of x86. Maybe not a complete extinction but maybe "well, you could build a new x86 PC but who in the right mind would do that given the cost/performance of alternatives?".

Another example: Some of the games I bought less than twenty years ago are problematic on modern versions of Windows. Some ~25 y.o. games are problematic. DOS games require more help.

The nature of games have also changed over the years: Is a game with a high score and three lives likely to capture teen audiences today as they used to for example?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I wonder if Steam would ever go the "proof of life" route. Your account is 100 years old, yeah you can keep it but prove you're still alive.

Put the onus on the individual instead of Steam.

 

[TheELF]

While my default stance on such topics would always be inclined towards user rights, I'm wondering just how relevant the topic is going to be.

For example: in the next twenty years we might (at least as far as gaming is concerned) see the death of x86. Maybe not a complete extinction but maybe "well, you could build a new x86 PC but who in the right mind would do that given the cost/performance of alternatives?".

Another example: Some of the games I bought less than twenty years ago are problematic on modern versions of Windows. Some ~25 y.o. games are problematic. DOS games require more help.

The nature of games have also changed over the years: Is a game with a high score and three lives likely to capture teen audiences today as they used to for example?

We have been seeing the death of x86 for the last 60 years...ever since risc came out.
Now we got the steamdeck and waves of other handhelds and miniPCs all with x86 CPUs, and do you know why?! Because arm doesn't have access to any decent GPU.
Nvidia is the only one that could make an arm cpu that could take over low end to mid tier gaming but now they already took too long, if they start now it will be extremely difficult for them to succeed.

Smartphone gaming will stay arm and that will expand more and more but that will not influence x86 gaming at all.

I wonder if Steam would ever go the "proof of life" route. Your account is 100 years old, yeah you can keep it but prove you're still alive.

Put the onus on the individual instead of Steam.

How would they do that?! The only thing you need to make a steam account is a random email account, there is no way for them to know who you really are.
You can legally make a steam account at 13 years old which means that all info or linked credit cards could be from a parent anyway. So they can't link anything to you for certain.

 

[Artorias]

Well Steam launched in 2003, in just over 20 years you got to think there was at least one person who died and put Steam account in their will.

 

[Igo69]

Who is going to play these games lets say 25 years from now? I doubt anyone will. Even Doom Eternal will get ugly and will be forgotten.

 

[TheELF]

Who is going to play these games lets say 25 years from now? I doubt anyone will. Even Doom Eternal will get ugly and will be forgotten.

People still play games from 40-45 years ago, so much so that companies still sell them today.
The original doom from 1993 is still on the steam store in its original form.
Atari released a 50 year anniversary collection, that has done pretty well, including games from the atari 2600...

Atari 50: the Anniversary Celebration - Official Atari Video Games

This is a description

atari.com

People like old games just like they like old movies, as long as it's good it doesn't matter how old it is.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Who is going to play these games lets say 25 years from now? I doubt anyone will. Even Doom Eternal will get ugly and will be forgotten.

I still play older RTS games like Starcraft and Warcraft 2 as well as a few other niche games that were released in the late 90s and early 2000s. Just as us millennials will replay older console games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, kids today will grow up with Doom Eternal and will revisit them in 25 years to relive the nostalgia.

 

[Fallen Kell]

People still play games from 40-45 years ago, so much so that companies still sell them today.
The original doom from 1993 is still on the steam store in its original form.
Atari released a 50 year anniversary collection, that has done pretty well, including games from the atari 2600...

Atari 50: the Anniversary Celebration - Official Atari Video Games

This is a description

atari.com

People like old games just like they like old movies, as long as it's good it doesn't matter how old it is.

Exactly. In fact I think a lot more people would enjoy many of these games if they played them as many of the games were focused more on the gameplay and having something "fun" than figuring out how they will integrate the micro-transactions and content for sale, and "nerfing" things when users figure out how certain aspects can be combined to create a fun advantage, etc....

 

[TheELF]

Exactly. In fact I think a lot more people would enjoy many of these games if they played them as many of the games were focused more on the gameplay and having something "fun" than figuring out how they will integrate the micro-transactions and content for sale, and "nerfing" things when users figure out how certain aspects can be combined to create a fun advantage, etc....

Well, also to be fair almost all of these games where made for arcades so they are made extremely difficult to make you pop in more coins.
It's also why NES (era) games are considered to be extremely difficult, if you shelled out $60-70 for a cartridge it better take you a long time to complete it.
Point being it's not like companies trying to make more money is a new thing, microtransactions suck but it's not like it's shocking that they do it.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Well, also to be fair almost all of these games where made for arcades so they are made extremely difficult to make you pop in more coins.
It's also why NES (era) games are considered to be extremely difficult, if you shelled out $60-70 for a cartridge it better take you a long time to complete it.
Point being it's not like companies trying to make more money is a new thing, microtransactions suck but it's not like it's shocking that they do it.

-A lot of games from the Blockbuster era were also built with a huge difficulty spike 2-3 levels in to basically force people into playing a "demo" when they rented the game.

 

[cytg111]

Hmmm life was easier as a pirate...

 

[TheELF]

Hmmm life was easier as a pirate...

I know that storage is cheap now but still...you can't keep a library of many games on local storage and always updated, and even if you can do it it's not worth all the work and cost.
And you can't rely on every game ever to keep being available on the net for all eternity either.
Let alone the online/multiplayer games.

If I had to keep all the games I own on steam (all gotten cheaply from humble bundle/fanatical/etc) on local storage I would have to quit gaming.

 

[Thump553]

My guess is that this issue mostly comes up when a gamer dies without letting his/her heirs know the password and user name. Someone presents proof of death and claims access to the account. Steam probably just doesn't want to get involved in determining who is entitled to the deceased gamer's library-it is nothing but an expense and potential liability to Steam (if they grant access to what turns out to be the incorrect claimant). Remember that estate law differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and Steam would be dealing with fifty different states not to mention hundreds of other countries and/or subjurisdictions thereof. There is little or no upside for Steam getting involved in these cases versus putting a clause in their terms and conditions that your license is for the owner's lifetime only..

I'm not all that familiar with Steam practices-can you have a shared Steam account officially? That would be an easy solution to this potential problem-put your "heir" on as a joint owner of the account-and give them the password and username before you die. As long as one owner remains alive you can access antique games forever.

 

[TheELF]

I'm not all that familiar with Steam practices-can you have a shared Steam account officially? That would be an easy solution to this potential problem-put your "heir" on as a joint owner of the account-and give them the password and username before you die. As long as one owner remains alive you can access antique games forever.

You can have multiple family members play a game you own at the same time on different computers, but the game is still only owned by that one account.
At some point the law will start incorporating "internet assets" ,there is no way around that happening, and steam will have to comply to them.

 

[cytg111]

You can have multiple family members play a game you own at the same time on different computers, but the game is still only owned by that one account.
At some point the law will start incorporating "internet assets" ,there is no way around that happening, and steam will have to comply to them.

I will not confess to torrenting movies and shows. That would be illegal. But if someone that did - at the same time had subscriptions to all the streaming services I guess I wouldnt object too much from a moral standpoint. I guess one could do the same with games, buy a game on steam and remember to torrent a backup while at it.

 

[TheELF]

I will not confess to torrenting movies and shows. That would be illegal. But if someone that did - at the same time had subscriptions to all the streaming services I guess I wouldnt object too much from a moral standpoint. I guess one could do the same with games, buy a game on steam and remember to torrent a backup while at it.

While this might calm your soul, legally they could still come after you for that, having bought a copy does not allow you to pirate a copy. You do often have the right to a backup copy but that's different from pirating a copy.

 

[cytg111]

While this might calm your soul, legally they could still come after you for that, having bought a copy does not allow you to pirate a copy. You do often have the right to a backup copy but that's different from pirating a copy.

Ill be sure to tell my friend.