What happens to your Steam games when you die? Well, it’s complicated.
You’re going to die one day. We all will. But what happens to your library of digital games when you do? It might not be the first order of business for your family or friends, but digital assets do have value — some people spend thousands of dollars over their lifetimes on video games, plenty of which are likely digital, through a storefront like Valve Corporation’s Steam.
A ResetEra forum user, delete12345, reached out to Steam customer support in May to ask: Can I put my Steam library in my will? You can, technically, if you pass along your login information — don’t forget two-factor authentication! — but the games you’ve purchased aren’t actually transferable to another person. The answer delete12345 got was a, We’re sorry, but no. (Polygon has reached out to Valve for clarification.)
It seems pretty preposterous that you can’t pass down something that you own, but the thing is, you don’t own the games in your Steam library. The same goes for games purchased from other digital stores, like Microsoft and Sony’s online storefronts. Digital games are merely licensed digital assets. Valve states this clearly in its user agreement: “The Content and Services are licensed, not sold.
