Valve says Steam users don't own a thing, GOG says its games can't be taken away

Steam Licensing and California Law

• Many see Steam’s new “you’re buying a license” language as a response to a California law requiring clearer disclosure for revocable digital goods.
• Several commenters note the law exempts products whose access cannot be revoked and are downloadable for permanent offline use.
• Some express surprise that confusion ever existed; others argue average users reasonably assumed “buy” meant permanent access.

GOG’s Position and Offline Installers

• GOG is praised for DRM‑free installers that can be archived and used offline, even if GOG disappears.
• GOG will, in principle, allow bequeathing accounts if heirs obtain a court order; Steam officially does not, though courts could still compel transfers.
• Some argue GOG still only grants a license and can revoke account access, even if the installer files continue to function technically.

Ownership, Licensing, and Legal Ambiguity

• Strong debate over what “owning” digital goods should mean.
• One side: only rightsholders “own” works; everyone else only licenses.
• Other side: traditional ownership of books/cartridges (use, resell, gift, bequeath) is the relevant model; DRM‑free downloads approximate this, even if copyright limits copying.
• Discussion of first‑sale doctrine and its limited or unclear applicability to digital goods, with some jurisdictional differences noted.

Account Lockout and Platform Risk

• Anecdotes of losing entire libraries due to payment flags, region locks, or client deprecation (e.g., old GPUs no longer supported).
• This fuels concern that large centralized platforms can effectively erase purchases.

Linux Support and Clients

• Debate over GOG’s lack of an official Linux client: some see it as anti‑consumer, others say simple DRM‑free downloads are sufficient.
• Community tools (Heroic, Proton, Wine, Lutris) are mentioned, but experiences vary and updates can be clunky.

Preservation, Retro Gaming, and Piracy

• Many value DRM‑free or emulatable games for long‑term preservation; offline installers and emulation are seen as key.
• Some treat games as disposable consumables; others reject this, pointing to decades‑old titles still joyfully played.
• A strand of opinion holds that if “buying” does not confer real ownership, piracy feels less like “stealing,” especially to regain access to previously bought content.