> You don’t buy the game but a license to play it.
This is such a pedantic argument that misses the point and short circuits the entire discussion. I don't think there's a single reasonable person who mistakenly believes that they're buying the IP itself when they "buy" a game on Steam.
Of course it's "just" a license to play it, what's being questioned are the terms of those licenses, both from moral and legal perspective.
Most current EULAs boil down to: "We reserve the right to suspend your account and revoke access to the software you paid for for any reason, no refunds". To the best of my knowledge these EULAs haven't been tested in court so they shouldn't be taken at face value.
There's a lot of room to balance the rights of customers who should be granted the same rights they would enjoy when buying a physical product, and the practical needs of platforms which need to ensure a fair environment for other players.
Should cheaters be allowed to ruin the experience for other players? Obviously not.
Should platforms be allowed to permanently ban suspected cheaters without a fair and transparent appeals process and without offering refunds? I don't think so.
This is such a pedantic argument that misses the point and short circuits the entire discussion. I don't think there's a single reasonable person who mistakenly believes that they're buying the IP itself when they "buy" a game on Steam.
Of course it's "just" a license to play it, what's being questioned are the terms of those licenses, both from moral and legal perspective.
Most current EULAs boil down to: "We reserve the right to suspend your account and revoke access to the software you paid for for any reason, no refunds". To the best of my knowledge these EULAs haven't been tested in court so they shouldn't be taken at face value.
There's a lot of room to balance the rights of customers who should be granted the same rights they would enjoy when buying a physical product, and the practical needs of platforms which need to ensure a fair environment for other players.
Should cheaters be allowed to ruin the experience for other players? Obviously not.
Should platforms be allowed to permanently ban suspected cheaters without a fair and transparent appeals process and without offering refunds? I don't think so.