Buying video games: do you really own what you pay for?

Here is a truth that still surprises many players: whether you buy a game on disc or as a download, you do not become the owner of any game. The game remains the property of its publisher. What you acquire is a licence: the right to play it, under the conditions set out in the contract.

The nature of the licence

By buying a game, you do not obtain an asset that you would own forever. You receive a right to use it, often subject to restrictions designed to protect the publisher's interests: no reselling, no sharing, no modifying. This right is defined by the End User Licence Agreement (CLUF) and, on platforms, by the Terms of Service (CGU).

The CGU: the real contract behind your purchase

These terms are not a mere formality: they make up the contract that binds you to the publisher. The problem is that almost no one reads them, and that they are drafted by only one of the two parties, in that party's interest. They regularly contain clauses allowing the publisher to cut off access to the game, to change the rules after the fact, or to prohibit what the law actually permits (such as reselling a physical copy).

What it changes for you

Understanding that you are buying a licence, and not an object, is not a detail: it is what explains why a game can become unplayable (server shutdowns), disappear from a catalogue, or be impossible to resell. But it does not mean you have no rights: European law governs these licences and prohibits unbalanced clauses.

To go further: what is a CLUF? · usus, abusus, fructus: what ownership really means · law versus CGU: which one prevails?