A recent Steam update has had the internet in a blaze of confusion and anger. So what could this update be? They said that the game you pay for on Steam isn’t yours, but a rented license of the game. But what does this really mean, and what are the facts?

On October 11th Steam updated their page to indicate that instead of buying a game, now you are merely licensing the games you are paying money for. This is due to California AB2426 law, which states “Existing law makes it unlawful for any person doing business in California and advertising to consumers in California to make any false or misleading advertising claim…”  Additionally, the new law “prohibits a seller of a digital good from advertising or offering for sale a digital good, as defined, to a purchaser with the terms “buy,” “purchase,” or any other term which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good.”

So what has changed? In reality, nothing has changed at all since you never actually owned your Steam games. The recent amount of misleading and alarming content from the internet and from content creators has unnecessarily exacerbated the intensity of this situation. So at least for now, there is nothing to worry about, as it is business as usual for gamers. So, have fun with your games, and stay safe.