Video game dematerialisation: the issues at a glance

The video game industry's shift to digital is no doubt inevitable. It brings real benefits, immediate access and no more logistics, but it raises a host of questions about ownership, resale and preservation. This overview covers the key issues and links out to our detailed analyses.

1. Ownership: what do you really own?

Physical or digital, you are not buying a game but a licence to use, governed by a contract that almost no one reads. Understanding this shift is the key to everything else.

→ Do you really own what you buy? · What is a CLUF?

2. Resale: the great paradox

A physical game can be resold; the same game as a download cannot. After ten years of proceedings, the Cour de cassation ruled in 2024 against the resale of digital copies, a French decision that does not close the European debate. The fight is now moving to the legislative arena.

→ Resale in France: laws, contradictions and remedies · The UFC-Que Choisir saga against Steam

3. Unfair terms: the contract is not the law

"It's written in the contract" does not mean "it's legal". European law neutralises terms that create a significant imbalance to your detriment.

→ Unfair terms · The Ubisoft / The Crew case

4. Preservation: a heritage at risk

87% of games released before 2010 are no longer available. When a game hangs on a single server, it can disappear forever.

→ Is the industry burning its own heritage? · Legal deposit, a model to follow

5. Taking action: at European level and close to home

The Commission's response to "Stop Destroying Videogames" showed the limits of a petition on its own. The real lever: enforcing existing rights and influencing the future Digital Fairness Act.

→ The Commission's response · Write to your elected officials

The debate is not "physical versus digital". It is about choice, transparency and rights, whatever the medium.

Official references

• Directive (EU) 2019/770, digital content and services (EUR-Lex)
• Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services Act (EUR-Lex)
• Directive 93/13/EEC, unfair terms (EUR-Lex)
• European Commission, response to the ECI "Stop Destroying Videogames"
• Video Game History Foundation, "87% of classic games are out of print"