Once the user purchases a game on Steam, the title is theirs, stuck in their library for eternity. He finished it? Doesn’t he want to play it anymore? This does not change anything, since it is impossible for him to resell it as he would for a physical game, and that is not about to change.
French justice has indeed given its opinion on the matter. As L’informé indicates, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that Valve (the company behind Steam) should not install a new electronic sales system in a decision handed down on October 21.
Steam games may not be resold second-hand
Steam had been attacked at the end of 2015 by the association UFC Que Choisir, who blamed the American company for the lack of a resale option for games purchased online. It is true that this practice, then still relatively new, raised many questions. In 2019, French justice ruled in favor of the association, forcing Steam to create a new resale system. However, the company had appealed. The decision was finally made a few days ago, and it takes the decision of three years ago on its head.
Read also – Steam finally has a suitable application on Android and iOS
If justice has backtracked, it is for copyright issues. According to the judgment, the dematerialized market is much more nebulous than the physical and therefore cannot be fair to the rights holders. Therefore, the resale is not deemed relevant via the platform.
A decision that is likely to mark a date. It was Steam that was in the sights of the French association, but since 2015, the market has evolved greatly and new players have arrived, such as Epic Games. The latter blow, since if Steam had been obliged to install a new system, they would undoubtedly have been obliged to follow.
Source: the informed