When you turn on your Xbox Series X, open the Microsoft Store, and buy Farming Simulator 22, you might think you own the game, but you’d be wrong. Y

New California law means digital stores can’t imply you’re buying a game when you’re merely licensing it

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2024-09-27 16:00:09

When you turn on your Xbox Series X, open the Microsoft Store, and buy Farming Simulator 22, you might think you own the game, but you’d be wrong. You actually paid for a license to play the game — not to own it. Companies can revoke the license at any time. It doesn’t happen all too often, but it does happen, especially with older games: Ubisoft made headlines earlier this year when it delisted racing game The Crew in December, took its servers offline, then started to pull licenses to the game. Licensing vs. actually owning a game becomes an issue, once again, when you consider where your games go when you die — you can’t technically pass your license along to another person, per many companies’ policies.

A new California bill (AB 2426), signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, is an attempt to bring transparency to the buying and selling of digital goods like movies, e-books, and, yes, video games. California assemblymember Jacqui Irwin introduced the bill, in part, after hearing about Ubisoft’s move with The Crew. The law won’t change the fact that we’re all licensing games instead of actually owning them, but it will force companies that operate in California to be more transparent about it. Companies and storefronts that would have to comply include Microsoft with the Microsoft Store, Valve with Steam, Sony with the PlayStation Store, Nintendo with its eShop, and publishers with their own stores, like Ubisoft’s Ubisoft Store.

The law is expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, preventing companies that operate digital storefronts from using words like “purchase” or “buy” unless the company is clear that it’s selling a license, not “unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good.” This notice will have to be “distinct and separate” from other terms and conditions of the purchase, according to the text. The law doesn’t apply to subscription-based services, free downloads like demos, or companies that offer “permanent offline download[s]” of digital goods. Companies will be fined for breaking the rules.