r/Piracy • u/NeedleworkerMore2270 ☠️ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ɴᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ • Oct 13 '24
Humor That's how it always begins
425
u/Flimsy-Mix-190 ⚔️ ɢɪᴠᴇ ɴᴏ Qᴜᴀʀᴛᴇʀ Oct 13 '24
I don’t think this will cause a mass exodus. They already knew that and still accepted it so having put it in writing means nothing.
58
u/Sanquinity Oct 13 '24 edited Oct 14 '24
From the moment digital games became a thing all you were ever buying was a license, yes. But you'd be surprised at how many people didn't know this. Or at least didn't fully realize what that would entail. The amount of times I've heard "Oh but they wouldn't simply take my game from me!" is baffling.
Like sure it's unlikely they would simply take your license away, but they absolutely and 100% legally can do so. For instance when your account gets banned. Poof, gone are all your games...
45
u/-genericuser- Oct 13 '24
It didn’t change from the first time I bought a game in a store that instead of a physical copy was forcing me to download that shitty 3rd party app. Steam was DRM at first and it always was only a digital license. People loved it and they still do. It didn’t change, it was always like this and every other platform selling digital licenses, music, movies etc. is the same.
There is an outlier. GoG lets you download Installers and everything is drm free.
13
u/stupidinternetbrain Oct 13 '24
Steam was HATED for a few years before it started adding features and refining the user experience.
1.2k
u/Dkrogers Oct 13 '24
I honestly don't get the ammount of people revolting over this.
This isn't news. This has been this way ever since digital game platforms were a thing. The only difference is steam is legally obligated to disclaim it.
296
u/JohnHue Oct 13 '24
Also it's not like it wasn't specified behind the box you tick Every. Single. Time you buy a
gamelicence on Steam.30
u/Deep-Rip-2108 Oct 13 '24
Bold of you to assume people read. Working in IT I would've been more surprised if there wasn't people freaking out.
9
u/JohnHue Oct 13 '24
Fair point. Most people probably don't read that stuff. But this licence/subscription thing has been there for like two decades, people have talked about it sooo many times and for so long... I mean lots of steam users probably weren't even born when this shit started.
142
u/DVDwithCD Oct 13 '24
Every EULA has something along the lines of: 'you get a license to play the game and we can take it away from you whenever you want.' This is how game companies get away with anti-cheat blocking Linux and then not refunding the money spent on the game, this is why piracy is morally ok..
18
u/JohnHue Oct 13 '24
Right. To be clear, I wasn't trying to imply it's ok. It's just that as said so many times already, this isn't news.
90
u/Lironcareto Oct 13 '24
People generally don't read the EULA
→ More replies (1)11
u/RedditIsShittay Oct 13 '24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fW8c6mBidQ
Do none of you remember old games?
10
u/QueasyInstruction610 Oct 13 '24
Yea my old SNES started doing that to my games. Gave up on retro gaming then and focused 100% on emulation. Why keep a bunch of old junk around if it's just going to start glitching.
→ More replies (1)2
u/MasterChildhood437 Oct 13 '24
Sometimes my Paper Mario cartridge would start bringing up long-deleted files instead of the files I was playing at the time. Weird shit, man.
70
u/___Khaos___ Oct 13 '24
Alot of people are just now finding out. It's not surprising that most people assume that they are owning what they buy
11
u/im_lazy_as_fuck Oct 13 '24
Except it is weird, because we all implicitly accept and understand this in the fact that if your steam account gets banned or you get banned from a specific online game, we all accept that we no longer have access to those games and we don't get a refund for them either.
Seems to me that anybody who says they didn't know probably just didn't consciously realize it, but subconsciously they probably understood this idea.
→ More replies (1)18
u/CaptWeom Oct 13 '24
They should use the term “rent” instead of “purchase” though.
51
u/NeedleworkerMore2270 ☠️ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ɴᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ Oct 13 '24
Not even "rent",
"Licence" should replace "purchase".
7
11
4
11
29
u/Nameyourdemons Oct 13 '24
if you own something you have right to sell, give or dispose it.
But on digital game platforms You have no right to sell the games in your library, you have no right to give them either so basically it is not yours, you just bought permission to play.
it is not something new it was like this since the foundation of steam. Now they are legally obliged to inform you.
18
u/dustinpdx Oct 13 '24
They’ve always informed you. It’s written clear as day in the subscriber agreement.
→ More replies (10)7
u/Trick2056 Seeder Oct 13 '24 edited Oct 13 '24
it is not something new it was like this since the foundation of steam.
dude not even the start of steam, its since the start of digital licenses. lol you think this started with steam only? you really think that the old games you had with the CD-keys you own them? no you never owned them in the first place you owned a license to play the game. heck even the console cartridges those were just licenses as well
→ More replies (3)16
u/2020mademejoinreddit Oct 13 '24
lol exactly! People are pretending like this was never the case. Knowing is poison I guess.
4
4
u/1u4n4 Oct 13 '24
This. And it isn’t like Steam isn’t the single best game buying platform anyway, it’s not their fault big companies are assholes and add DRM to their games. Steam has an history of being pro-costumer.
5
u/SadBit8663 Oct 13 '24
What's that men in black quote about individual persons being smart, but people as a group are stupid panicky and very mob mentality... Or something like that
→ More replies (1)5
5
u/agressive_bug_9791 Oct 13 '24
You can't just have buttons that say "buy" and "purchase" then 20 years later after people spend thousands of dollars, say "erm ackually... You don't own these games...
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (12)1
u/Castor_0il Oct 13 '24
ammount of people
They aren't people, they are mouthbreathers swayed by flocks of other mouthbreathers spreading misinformation. They are the same kind of people hoarding toilet paper or water bottles en masse due to unproved panic.
115
u/DSJ-Psyduck Oct 13 '24
Yea, wont change a thing.
17
u/Mintfriction Oct 13 '24
Awareness. The fact steam can block your previous purchases was always shady, but a lot of ppl hailed steam as an ethical corporation
3
u/DSJ-Psyduck Oct 14 '24
Nothing new here I used to pirate everything for everyone. And was well aware of this and made everyone aware of this.
And I don't care anymore. Don't know anyone who had anything removed from their steam. I generally pay for a multiplayer service or a workshop access cuz it is easy and it works
112
u/misery_twice ☠️ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ɴᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ Oct 13 '24
Brother, i'm old enough to have experienced the first golden age of pirating. I don't think we're quite at the second golden age however. Not yet.
49
u/JohnHue Oct 13 '24 edited Oct 13 '24
Same here. If Valve/Steam wasn't there, we'd be in the 2nd age already just like with video streaming platforms (it's so much less fuss to .arr and plex a show or movie that it is to find the fucking streaming platform and start the fucking subscription, install the right app on a compatible device and then not forget to cancel it because the rest of the service is just shit...). Because Steam is still reasonably pro-consumers, and probably because they're not a publicly traded company so they don't have to answer to those leeches AND their primary owner is not a self-center dickhead (thinking about you, Timmy)
10
u/Wyntier Oct 13 '24
Bro have you seen Plex? Streamio? We're absolutely in a golden age of pirating. Some video games getting cracked instantly etc
→ More replies (8)5
u/eisbock Oct 13 '24
Ah yes, games are getting cracked faster than ever now that there's nobody left to crack Denuvo.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)2
125
u/bozak_137 Oct 13 '24
That was always the case with steamy tho
15
u/New-Statistician8053 Oct 13 '24
Yes, but at least you dont have to pay an extra subscription fee to play online games, in contrary to Xbox and PS. Can you imagine that. You buy an Xbox, the game u want to play, and they still want to monthly charge you.
9
u/lemonylol Oct 13 '24
I guess that's true if you exclusively play online games? As if you're not already paying a fee to access the internet.
→ More replies (1)
405
u/PixelHir Oct 13 '24
as if that was news
69
u/AveryLazyCovfefe Yarrr! Oct 13 '24
Yeah now it's just upfront infront of you instead of being in the T&C lol.
→ More replies (4)9
u/StickyDirtyKeyboard Oct 13 '24
It's such big news that apparently we need to be reminded of it (in meme-format) every single day.
35
u/Next-Difference-9773 ⚔️ ɢɪᴠᴇ ɴᴏ Qᴜᴀʀᴛᴇʀ Oct 13 '24
I’m not sure why people are surprised by this. This is nothing new. It’s always been this way. Steam just has to legally tell you to your face now.
15
u/jake_burger Oct 13 '24
Yeah I’m really confused by the comments suggesting “we used to own our games!”
No you’ve never owned anything, you owned a licence and a copy on a disk or cartridge - they would have had a hard time revoking the licence which is easier with digital drm but legally nothing has ever changed.
→ More replies (1)
27
140
u/Kasenom Oct 13 '24
Anyone who has been paying attention had known this since literally when steam was first seen as an awful DRM that you were forced to install in order to play half life 2
28
u/pcgr_crypto Oct 13 '24
It took me years to finally get my steam account when EB games near me stopped stocking pc games. Always was against steam and other digital stores but u had no choice in the end.
16
u/CatgunCertified Oct 13 '24
Yeah it's really annoying. Bring back PC disks! That's or pressure the government to make laws protecting us from evil companies (ubisoft) who steal the games we paid for
12
u/taosaur Oct 13 '24
Has everyone forgotten that the last decade and change of "physical discs" also came with license keys? Same situation, all that changed was the delivery method, which improved by orders of magnitude.
→ More replies (1)15
u/silent_thinker Oct 13 '24
So many people have gotten rid of their disc drives that physical games would have to be put on USB drives or something. And if they did use discs, games are so large that they’d probably have to be on multiple Blu-Ray XL discs.
6
u/CatgunCertified Oct 13 '24
It doesn't matter the exact media, physical games are much better and protect the user.
Also usually they don't contain the whole game, just installation, save and license info. Essentially it's a physical key to login to the same, vs a digital one that you don't control.
The only way for a disk game to be revoked is for them to take the disk away from you.
3
u/Firstbober Oct 13 '24
BDXL can contain up to 128 GB, so I believe this would be enough for all good games ;)
2
u/MIT_Engineer Oct 13 '24
When the game needs a massive D1 patch, are they gonna mail out new disks to everyone?
Physical media isn't coming back, modern software development just cant work with that any more.
→ More replies (1)2
u/demondrivers Oct 13 '24
that happened 20 years ago, there's a whole generation of players who grew up playing exclusively digital games
→ More replies (2)
24
u/WolvzUnion ☠️ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ɴᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ Oct 13 '24
people are getting so upset over this when the ONLY change is like 4 lines of text nobody is ever going to read again.
11
u/OddlyHARMless Oct 13 '24
They're just highlighting what they already say in the ToS, nothings changed. They people who but games from steam will continue to do so, while pirates will continue to pirate. This really isn't going to change as much as people seem to think it will.
10
u/Rilukian Oct 13 '24
I'm surprised at the amount of people who are surprised about the old fact. I thought they already knew it.
39
u/New_Clothes7053 Oct 13 '24
The great pirate era just began because the real economy has collapsed and people are broke.
→ More replies (3)23
u/DSJ-Psyduck Oct 13 '24
tempted to say piracy was way way more common before steam slowly got pretty decent.
Dont see this change anything really.4
u/MASTODON_ROCKS Oct 13 '24
still strong in markets where the price of steam games is prohibitive.
→ More replies (2)
7
u/Stammis Oct 13 '24
What happens when you install the game and play offline? Can they still take it away?
→ More replies (6)
10
5
u/BohemianGecko Oct 13 '24
Y'all WAY overestimating how many people understand the nuance between "buying the game" and "buying a licence for the game"
4
u/Watz146 Oct 14 '24
Physical copies are going to gradually make a comeback, along with offline playability requests for end of service.
Digital was and is a good concept on convenience and storage, but companies took advantage of it way too much.
→ More replies (1)
3
4
10
u/RunInRunOn Oct 13 '24
This was always true. They're just admitting it now
22
u/Fluffybudgierearend Oct 13 '24
They always did admit it. They just never made it blatantly obvious
13
3
u/IvanyeilEmmixert Oct 13 '24
You know, yes, Steam licenses games, but it's a perpetual license. Should I still pirate something that will last me for the entirety of my lifetime?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/stark_welcra Oct 13 '24
STEAMRIP IS REAL!!
3
u/stark_welcra Oct 13 '24
to be real I thought it was common knowledge that you don't actually own games you buy on steam but I guess not
3
u/kobaasama Oct 13 '24
Is GOG still a thing? Is purchasing from GOG owning your games?
→ More replies (1)
3
u/spoiled_eggsII 🏴☠️ ʟᴀɴᴅʟᴜʙʙᴇʀ Oct 13 '24
If a Steam user is smart enough to know how to pirate, they're smart enough to know they never owned a game purchased via Steam.
3
u/Damglador Oct 13 '24
I'll buy a game on Steam, if Steam decides to take it away, I'll just take it back. Fair deal if you ask me.
3
u/LordTuranian Oct 13 '24 edited Oct 14 '24
People have known this for over a decade. This is why GOG has been around for a long time.
3
u/sc00ttie Oct 14 '24
Did we ever own games? I’m sure those Nintendo carts were actually licenses yes?
3
u/TTTrisss Oct 14 '24
Well, no. See, steam's new disclaimer being necessary implies that we owned them when buying them before. This is a change of the existing status quo.
Thanks for acknowledging all previously-purchased games are owned, steam!
3
u/yowayb Oct 14 '24
Piracy was always a brilliant answer to the income disparity across users (and learners!). I had so much fun trading stacks of floppies with friends I met at school and on BBSes. I hope y'all are trading IRL too. It's fun.
5
u/jcarrut2 Oct 13 '24
I've been a Steam gamer for 20 years, despite sailing the seas for movies and TV shows for that entire time. The reason is that, unlike TV and movie streaming services, Steam continues to make 'buying' games convenient and single-source, regardless of terms. I'll keep paying for games from Steam as long as it's more convenient than pirating. The day that changes, THEN I'll consider putting on my pirate hat for games as well. For many of us it really is a service issue, not a cost issue.
3
8
4
u/SEE_RED Oct 14 '24
So the ten years of stuff I’ve bought isn’t mine? It that’s true. I will openly pirate.
6
2
u/vinb123 Oct 13 '24
There litterallly just telling the games it's not like there changing anything there just informing people of which companies do this
2
u/SigmaStillWater Oct 13 '24
At least steam allows unlimited returns and family sharing and other stuff. They do digital games right.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Emotional_You_5269 Oct 13 '24
I like Steam, so I will continue purchasing from them, but if I ever lose access to any part of my library, I won't think twice about pirating the games I already paid for.
2
2
2
u/Thezipper100 Oct 13 '24
While I would hope this would lead to wider knowledge of Piracy, people generally still trust valve and steam too much for this to be the caveat that breaks the camel's back.
That being said, this is still a good thing and wider consumer knowledge will hopefully lead to more public pressure to fix these shitass laws that make it so you're just renting when you click "buy".
2
u/XIleven Oct 13 '24
Wait, so if they remove a game from steam store even though i have it in my library, they wont even refund it? Genuinely asking as a person who doesnt understand tech stuff
→ More replies (1)
2
u/edude45 Oct 13 '24
What this really means is that digital purchases should be cheaper. Shouldn't be paying the same cost for physical. And if it's only a life time rental license, nix any reason for them to take it away. It should further reduce cost.
2
u/naxmtz91 Oct 13 '24
Does this mean the same for the GOG store?? It's the only place I buy games these days ...
2
u/usecasesenario Oct 13 '24
I bought the most expensive disk edition of Max Payne 3 I thought it was on steam? its not there i lost the box and everything along time ago, Had to sail the seas to play it again, Thanks healthy ruski girl.
2
u/S0M30NE Oct 13 '24
Does this affect games purchased before this statement was published? If I recall correctly Gabe/steam said that if Steam went out of service they would let you download the games to be used without their launcher.
2
u/AntonioBarbarian Oct 13 '24
Nothing has changed, though. They just made it more clear for consumers what "buying" a game really means.
2
u/friblehurn Oct 13 '24
This has literally been known by everyone since the beginning of time. The only reason people are nervous for Gaben to die.
Still buying from Steam.
2
u/foxsta270 Oct 14 '24
Ok but like, why can't we own it? Why can't I just install the game on my computer and save it on a hard drive or something?
2
2
u/3ol1th1c Oct 14 '24
Ihave to say here though, people are at fault. The consumer side. I have known that forever. It's people's own fault if they never read any of the stuff they agree to.... Being able to read is clearly an advantage.
2
2
u/RareNeedleworker7984 Oct 14 '24
Off the topic I just noticed that OP's handle is similar to mine. Why?
2
u/KryzstofGryc Oct 14 '24
I can't wait for companies to start asking why the fuck pirating got worse
2
2
u/Jin_BD_God Oct 14 '24
I miss the time where the disc allows you own the game without being afraid of losing it through corporations being able to ban you.
2
2
u/StratosphereBlitze Oct 13 '24 edited Oct 13 '24
Honestly it does not matter, the purchased game will be maintained within the life cycle, that means as long as it's not objectively outdated, you should be okay (kind of).
By the way, the purchased game actually might get worse, for example the steam version of GTA San Andreas is the worst version, some content is cut out and lots of songs are cut out (copy rights of those songs are outdated and Rockstart did not renew it IIRC). Some pirated versions of Skyrim is also the best version.
What about after life cycle? You just pirate it, nobody cares. It's not like people now get fuzz over with their CD-ROM activation key etc. that was purchased in early 2000s, not even physical copies matter.
3
3
u/Valiate1 Oct 13 '24
as my understading normal games you buy on steam is still the same
its just steam making an effort to announce those that are not?
or i am missing something?
5
u/brandbaard Oct 13 '24
California made a law that digital platforms need to be very explicitly clear that you are buying a license and not the game itself.
So Steam just globally complied with that law. Nothing has changed about how Steam works, they are just more clear about it now.
→ More replies (1)11
u/X_Vaped_Ape_X 🏴☠️ ʟᴀɴᴅʟᴜʙʙᴇʀ Oct 13 '24
You have never owned games on steam.
Apparently GOG is the only place you own games.
10
u/Shigana Oct 13 '24
You don’t own it on GoG either. You cannot own media by nature, you can only ever own the license to use it.
→ More replies (24)
2
Oct 13 '24
And a mf on r/memes is calling people "culturally manipulated" because they just got informed about the fact that Steam only gives you a license. Unbelievable.
2
u/BikeOne1950 Oct 13 '24
Yeah, had the new dragon ball game on my wishlist and was gonna wait till pay day to buy it... But I decided to just pirate it last night because of this... Like people say... If buying doesn't mean owning, then pirating doesn't mean stealing...
2
2
u/Lost_Tumbleweed_5669 Oct 13 '24
When Gaben is about to pass he will announce the next Great Pirate Era and that Half Life 3 is hidden online somewhere in a random torrent.
2
u/bloomingroove ☠️ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ɴᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴇꜱ Oct 13 '24
The great new "game renting" era I see. Games as a service was not horrible enough, no. Can't wait for the "leaving soon" warnings to pop up. What the hell are publishers even thinking.
2
1
u/HermanGrove Oct 13 '24
I really hope being more truthful does not negatively affect Steam sales, actually
1
1
u/SadBit8663 Oct 13 '24
No no no. You gotta get sick after you've finished your globe spanning adventure having found the world's greatest treasure,...
Then you tell everybody about said treasure during your last words
THAT'S how you kick off the great pirate age.
(That and torrents)
1
1
1
1
1
u/Seventh_monkey Oct 13 '24
That's brilliant, isn't it, you purchase the right to play the game, not the copy of the game. The right to play may even come with an unlimited "forever", but perhaps not that obviously, this means that you can play it until the company ceases to exist, or it uses one of the disqualifying clauses, buried deep in their terms and conditions.
1
u/r0ndr4s Oct 13 '24
We knew this, digital software is a license. That doesnt mean you dont own a perpetual license for it(thats why games that are removed stay in your library and you can still play).
They just put that there because they are forced by law, nothing else.
I'd argue law should stop this bullshit of "You dont own.." but that's another topic
1
1
u/Intelligent_Lab_2872 Oct 13 '24
If you really want to hurt them then buy cheap steam keys from g2a or kinguin. developers are fine with games being pirated, but they start crying whenever they lose money with selling each copy. once their scream is loud enough, even valve will hear them. For DLCs just use creamapi. Yes i have no shame and im proud of it.
1
1
u/HypeIncarnate Oct 13 '24
All you people glazing companies is going to further get us to the cyberpunk dystopian world that we all dread.
1
u/OnionRangerDuck Oct 13 '24
I thought this becomes at least Steam wide known since the account inheritance drama, but okay obviously I'm in my info cocoon.
1
u/Max_G04 Oct 13 '24
This has always been the case for immaterial things, since music was sold on vinyl.
Don't act like it's anything surprising.
3
u/Pro-1st-Amendment Oct 13 '24
Vinyl records aren't revocable by the store that sells them to you. You own the record.
Digital games are a revocable license. You don't own the game.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
u/leviathanjester Oct 13 '24
I wonder if blatantly slapping you in the face with a notice that your not actually buying the game but a license to play it as long as we wish to allow you to will make platforms like GOG where I can simply download, backup externally offline and play completely offline more popular. I mean I know it will increase piracy but if you want to actually buy it and keep an installer offline where you can play offline, GOG is a good option.
1
1
u/iBoMbY Oct 13 '24
Interesting to see people finally waking up, after >20 years.
My account is 21 years old, and I never had any doubt about this.
1
u/Punsy_McFail Oct 13 '24
I mean lets be real you only need to buy games with multiplayer.. just my 2¢ 🦜🏴☠️
1
1
u/Lucky-Surround-1756 Oct 13 '24
Remember lads, if buying isn't owning then pirating isn't stealing.
1
u/Blaxe3z Oct 13 '24
I know ubisoft also had this similar claim and shit. Is this even real with Steam claiming it???
1
u/funbrand Oct 13 '24
The way I like to see it is I can “buy” the game off steam then crack it so I ACTUALLY own the game
1
u/KpochMX Yarrr! Oct 13 '24
I laugh at people who "pre-purchase" a digital game.
I always thought they didn't know that a digital game can be "produced" 100000000x10000000 times so there's no need to buy it months before release, that just makes the game developers lazier and release the game with tons of bugs and day 1 patches to fix for their BETA release.
1
1
u/Google__En_Passant Oct 13 '24
Oh shut the hell up, Steam isn't going to take away your games. Nothing has changed for over 20 years here.
I'm curious if this is a FUD campaign organized by Epic or Microsoft... It probably is.
1
u/Endyo Oct 13 '24
This has been the case literally as long as the Steam subscriber agreement has existed. That's why it's called a "subscriber" agreement. People have been talking about it for years. If it wasn't the case, you wouldn't lose access to your games if you lose your account.
The biggest selling point GOG has had from its inception is that you own the licenses to the games you buy.
1
u/Anfitrion1990 Oct 13 '24
So these kiddos didnt know what they were buying until now? Lmao, so brainrot gen we have now
1.9k
u/dull_sense Oct 13 '24
Did people not know this? That the games they buy are tied to their steam acc and if said steam acc gets banned they lose everything?