Their tagline is literally ‘you buy it, you own it’. But does it really grants ownership?
Yes. So does buying it on Steam, or anywhere else.
Anyone claiming otherwise is LYING TO YOU.
Edit: apparently, some of y’all are misunderstanding me, so I’ll connect the dots for you more explicitly:
- Anybody who claims that games are “licensed, not sold” is lying to you.
- Steam claims that games are “licensed, not sold.”
- Therefore, Steam is lying to you.
In case it somehow still isn’t clear, this is the exact fucking polar opposite of “shilling for Steam!”
The bottom line is this: nobody – not GOG, not Steam, not brick-and-mortar stores – gets to somehow ignore or override Federal laws like copyright law and the Uniform Commercial Code. And THE LAW SAYS that when you buy a copy of a copyrighted work, you own that copy!
Steam can lie to you and try to frustrate your ability to exercise your property rights, but that does not mean you don’t have them!
You are arguing from the rights consumers are supposed to have. Everyone else is arguing from the rights consumers do have. Hope this clears up the confusion for you.
Just because a right is infringed upon doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Moreover, being subjugated under tyranny doesn’t mean you should accept the rhetorical framing of the tyrant!
Functionally, yes. Legally, no.
Can you transfer your game to someone else? If not, then its not functionally yes either.
Put the installer on a usb drive (or a cd if you’re cool) and hand it over to the person you want to “transfer” it to. Physical media, like the good old days. Except it’s better because all the drm is gone.
You can just copy the installer and send it to them, so functionally it works. What you can’t do is transfer the license which means legaly no just as the comment said.
So i cant sell it, therefore not functional
You’ve never owned software in your life. Everything you’ve ever purchased is a license to use software. Even when you had physical media. Even when you own a disc or a cartridge.
Even FOSS.
If a company wanted to revoke it, it would be illegal for you to use that physical media. Enforcing it would be pretty unrealistic, but they could sue you for copyright infringement if they revoked your license and then found out you used it anyway.
That’s complete bullshit:
Software I’ve written is owned by me.
Open-source licenses (F/LOSS) mostly cannot be revoked.
Public domain exists.
