For several weeks, users have been pointing out some "legal complications" related to the inheritance of the Steam digital game library. The gaming platform GOG reports that it is ready and willing to help users transfer their accounts to their heirs in case of death. Subject to a court decision, Ars Technica writes.
"In general, your GOG account and GOG content is not transferable," GOG spokesperson Zuzanna Rybacka says. "However, if you can obtain a copy of a court order that specifically entitles someone to your GOG personal account, the digital content attached to it, taking into account the EULAs of specific games within it, and that specifically refers to your GOG username or at least email address used to create such an account, we’d do our best to make it happen."
In the absence of a court order, there are several factors that GOG says make it difficult for them to simply transfer an account at the request of a user (or under that user's last will and testament). GOG accounts and content are subject to limited, personal licenses that are not transferable.
"This is the standard for digital services and goods," Rybacka points out. In addition, each game distributed on GOG may be subject to a separate EULA (End User License Agreement), which may specifically detail the scope of rights granted to the user of a particular game.
Besides, there are questions about confirming that a particular account belongs to a particular person. GOG does not collect information sufficient to truly identify a specific person (such as first and last name) or their marital status. For this reason, GOG cannot determine that someone is a relative of a particular user or that a particular user is deceased.
GOG wants to proceed cautiously in such situations, as it is "a particularly delicate matter with little to no existing legal guidance." The policy related to the transfer of digital property has not been comprehensively regulated by any specific laws, and therefore the company is obliged to follow general law in this regard.
However, GOG has stated that it is aware of several existing court decisions in which it has been allowed to inherit an online account. This suggests that a court order is a possible option.
"We’re willing to handle such a situation and preserve your GOG library—but currently we can only do it with the help of the justice system," says Zuzanna Rybacka.