Steam appears to have started posting notifications in shopping carts that storefront purchases are available. just for license According to a notice spotted by Engadget, it’s not a game. The move appears to be the company’s move ahead of a new California law that goes into effect next year that will force companies to acknowledge that buyers don’t actually own digital content.
When you open your shopping cart with items in it and before proceeding to checkout, you’ll see a notification in the bottom right corner that says, “Purchasing a digital product entitles you to the product on Steam.” This is the first time our editors have seen a notification like this (we use Steam a lot), so it seems to be relatively new.
Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2426, requiring digital marketplaces to clearly tell customers when they are only purchasing a license to access media. This does not apply to permanent offline downloads, only to digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows, and e-books from online storefronts. Businesses that do not comply could be fined for false advertising if they do not explain certain digital purchase restrictions in clear language. The law was applied following situations such as the removal of Ubisoft crew From the player’s library after the game’s servers are shut down.
