Summary
GOGpromised users it would do its best to comply with their wishes and transfer ownership of their account to their chosen beneficiary in the unfortunate event of their passing. In previous generations, it was easy for players to pass down their old consoles and video games to their next of kin, given that most titles still relied on physical mediums such as disks and cartridges. However, the industry has since moved further and further into the digital space, leaving manyGOGusers wondering how this prevalent trend of digitization might affect their rights as a consumer and whether it is legal to pass down an online account with a last will.
Digital ownership has been a notoriously heated topic for many in the gaming community, with many users objecting to the lack of protections surrounding digital media. Some players additionally argued that the legal gray zones of the industry granted major publishers and companies too much control over online distribution, which would inevitably foster a market where consumers ultimately did not even own the products they purchased as companies could take away their access by doing something as simple as shutting down servers. A recent discussion withSteam additionally highlighted the trouble of inheritingan online video game library from another person, sparking worries among its user base that their accounts might forever be lost in the event of their deaths.
Now, fellow distribution platform GOG is addressing the same issue. In astatement to RespawnFirst, GOG clarified that it was willing to honor its users' wills and transfer ownership of an account’s library to another person in the event of the original owner’s death. However, due to the fact that the platform itself does not collect sufficient information from its users to reliably verify a relationship between two people, GOG specifically requires a court order that entitles a recipient to receive another user’sentire video game libraryin the event of their untimely passing.
GOG Is Willing To Respect Users' Wishes
GOG further emphasized it was willing to accommodate users but also stated that there was currently no legal guidance on the matter of video game preservation, meaning it would have to rely on the help of its users' local justice system. The company additionally pointed out that the games on its platform arefree of controversial DRM programs, meaning users can download offline installers for each game in their library and preserve them in a personal external drive as an alternative.
While many gamers are willing to admit that the digitization of the video game industry has provided a variety of convenient features, there are still those who are wary of the industry’s increasingly online-dependent practices and how it might letcompanies remove games from users' accounts.GOGhas taken a step to meet consumers' demands, but only time will tell if players and developers eventually find a serviceable middle-ground that satisfies both parties.
