What, exactly, is a "Steam Subscriber agreement"?

[Dominus Servorum]

i want to buy crusader kings, but I don't know if this means i will have to pay a monthly/yearly subscription now to do it. i haven't bought a game here for a little while and noticed the agreement is described as a "Subscription". what does this mean for me and my wallet?

[Wolf Knight]

the SSA is the agreement for your account. you dont have to pay a monthly fee unless the game has a monthly subscription fee

[TristanMike]

The "Subscription" you are talking about is your subscription to the Steam Service, which invovls their rules and terms, as well as their DRM. It does not imply paid.

Any game that requires a subscription for the game should clearly be listed on the individual games store. If you purchase a game only to find that it does require a subscription, you can get a refund as long as you haven't played more than two hours or hasn't been longer than two weeks since purchase.

[8ullfrog]

Apparently Paradox is getting into the game too, ugh.

If the Steam Subscriber Agreement is too nebulous for you to understand, you can apparently buy the game directly from Paradox, who made it.

It appears to be on sale for $2.00

Unless you meant Crusader Kings 2, which appears to be $10.00.

You will absolutely have to agree to a license agreement over there, but it will be direct, rather than secondary.

Think of Steam like a room where you play games. You are hosted by valve. They deliver the game, and provide the forum for discussion.

[SpunkyJones]

Your confusing the term “subscriber” and “subscription”.

[HypersleepyNaputunia]

from reading the paradox forum it looks like theres no drm on the steam version anyway, so you can play the game without steam on

the paradox one lets you link the steam and paradox accounts to give you paradox versions of the games you own. But the paradox has to forever be linked to steam or they dont let you play, didnt quite understand how that works out.

[captainwiseass]

You know when you signed up for Steam, there was that long page of stuff they said you were supposed to read, and you clicked the little box that said you did, but you didn't?

That was the Steam Subscriber Agreement.

[AnActualTryhard]

Can someone put it in dummy form and sum it up?

[Neoyoshi]

Kenan lähetti viestin:

Can someone put it in dummy form and sum it up?

^this

[Neoyoshi]

My guess is (or at least my best guess) this has something to do with the California bill that states storefronts are not allowed to lie about digital ownership or the licence related to digital goods.

https://www.mmorpg.com/news/storefronts-cant-lie-about-you-buying-digital-goods-per-new-californian-bill-2000132962

[Glimmer]

Lots of lost details and probably could improve some of the phrasing, but this is all you're getting for free. Do not try and use this summary as the basis of legal action, both your lawyer and I will just laugh at you.

Section 1: You must be 13 years or older to join Steam
1A: Valve runs Steam
1B: Steam is a store that sells hardware, licenses to games and some other services. Some of those may have additional agreements.
1C: You are responsible for your account. You can't share/sell it.
1D: Steam operates as a store.
1E: Valve can collect money because they operate as a store.

2A: Valve sells licenses to games which are tied to the account. Steam can automatically update your games.
2B: Steam offer Beta versions of software, which may(/does) come with other agreements if you accept
2C: You can use some of Valve's developer tools.
2D: Details the rules for creating fanart using Valve's assets
2E: Valve offers some dedicated server software
2F: Ownership remains with the owners (I.E. you're buying a license, not the game)
2G: You can play the games, nothing else. (E.G. no using your account to run a internet cafe)

3A: You can only use payment sources you control (I.E. no stealing someone's credit card). You won't falsify your location to bypass region restrictions or to alter the price.
3B: Your responsible for charges made by the account
3C: Steam Wallet exists
3D: Steam Market exists
3E: CD keys for retail Valve games exist
3F: Authorized key sellers exist
3G: Free games/software exist
3H: Non-Steam sites are not connected to Steam even if Steam links to them
3I: Refunds exist

4: Online conduct (I.E. don't be a jerk)

5: Valve is not responsible for 3rd party content

6A: Steam allows multiple avenues for users to upload/post conent
6B: Steam Workshop (game mods) exist
6C: If you're getting paid to promote a game through Broadcast or Curator, you must say that
6D: You either own the rights to the content you upload or have permission to do so

7: Valve gives the enough of a Warranty/Guarantee required by applicable laws and not one ounce more

8A: Valve can change the SSA
8B: Variation of Valve can change the SSA. The only option to reject the change is to cancel the agreement entirely. Not explicitly agreeing to the change but continuing to use Steam counts as agreement

9A: The agreement is good from the moment you agree upto the moment you stop using Steam
9B: You can leave Steam at any time, but licenses are tied to your account so you can't take them with you
9C: Valve can restrict or even delete your account if you break rules
9D: Sections 2.C., 2.D., 2.F., 2.G., 3.A., 3.B., 3.D., 3.H., and 5 - 11 will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement.

10: If you have a problem with Valve, Support is your first step. If you and Support can't resolve the issue, you can sue Valve. EU and UK can sue Valve in their appropriate courts, everyone else sues Valve in Washington (the state). If your region requires additional/alternative means to resolution (E.G. arbitration) that is also offered.

11:
If a part of the agreement is ruled to be unenforceable, that section is considered removed, but the rest stays.
The various agreements outline by the SSA override any other agreement made by the various parties covered by the SSA (E.G. if a promise with Steve conflicts with the SSA, SSA wins)
If law enforcement requires Valve to turn over information, they will

[SKARDAVNELNATE]

Glimmer lähetti viestin:

Steam can automatically update your games.

This part really annoys me. After I buy something from a store I expect the store to no longer have anything to do with it. And since Steam operates as a store they should have no involvement in when or if I apply an update.

[76561198407601200]

SKARDAVNELNATE lähetti viestin:

Glimmer lähetti viestin:

Steam can automatically update your games.

This part really annoys me. After I buy something from a store I expect the store to no longer have anything to do with it. And since Steam operates as a store they should have no involvement in when or if I apply an update.

Yes, a direct result of not reading the ssa then expecting the games to not update.

[Wayward]

SKARDAVNELNATE lähetti viestin:

Glimmer lähetti viestin:

Steam can automatically update your games.

This part really annoys me. After I buy something from a store I expect the store to no longer have anything to do with it. And since Steam operates as a store they should have no involvement in when or if I apply an update.

Unfortunately for you, your expectations are not the same as the reality.