Even when trading a skin, item, decal or anything else, it does not belong to you. This much is clear from the terms and conditions of developers such as Riot Games, Epic Games and of course, Steam.
Developers of games on Steam are forced to use the Steam Wallet for in-game transactions. Logical though it may be, it’s an unsavoury centralization of what has grown to a huge market in the gaming world.
At the end of the day, Steam can lock access to your in-game assets at whim. It’s right there in their subscriber agreement:
“Your license confers no title or ownership in the Content and Services.”
This includes not just the games you buy, but every single transaction you make inside it; essentially, at no point do your in-game items or games belong to you.
Not to be alarmist, however, as it is not commonplace for Steam to go around repossessing user-owned assets — it wouldn’t be the most effective consumer relations strategy — but the status quo is certainly cause for unease.
Why is this cause for concern?
Sure, Valve have a strong motive to work in tandem with their player base on the virtual assets bought and collected on their platform. But people are paying real money for these items and are not really allowed to trade them outside of Steam.
A quick Google search will give you a wide range of marketplaces which facilitate the buying and selling of Steam items. It happens, probably quite a lot. This doesn’t mean that one day external pressures won’t pile up, want to read more? Click here ..
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