What happens to account when owner dies?

[the Winter Warlock]

Can the account be transferred to next of kin? I mean for example, I have a steam wallet that I put money in, and skins that I have paid for that can be put back on the market.

Just a curious question.

I know people will say licensing stuff and what not.

I'd like my kids to have my account when I kick the big bucket....

[lPherion]

(Sorry for my english) I think you can't transfer accounts, whatever the case.

[Ogami]

If you know the login and password and can proof to Steam that the owner died ( certificate of death) AND that you are the designated heir ( last will) they will transfer the account to your ownership.

If you dont know the login/password then you are out of luck. Steam will not give out those information, even in the case of death by the original owner.

In practice, if you know the login, just keep using the account and dont make a fuss about it.

[Brian9824]

Officially its undetermined. Support from reports has had mixed results, with some reports of them allowing it to be transferred if it was in a will, others saying no. Best bet is put all the details in a will to maximize chances and make it as official as possible.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Ogami:

If you know the login and password and can proof to Steam that the owner died ( certificate of death) AND that you are the designated heir ( last will) they will transfer the account to your ownership.

I've heard that support has and has not done that before and its very YMMV. There isn't an official policy on it so it REALLY depends on who you talk to.

[Ogami]

Originally posted by taki:

i am sorry, but this is funny :FireAlpaca: there is no any way that you could ever prove what was that account original owner. Steam is not facebook, there is no any "owner" here. My sister, brother, friend and use my account and play any games which i have.

Its pretty simple, you have to give your billing address now on Steam, even for Steam Wallet transactions. If you lie on that form and give a false name and such, well, not Steams problem.
For Steam the owner is the one who first entered the name and address and such for the account.
And they want to see proof of death for that person and that you are the designated heir for that person.

Originally posted by taki:

My sister, brother, friend and use my account and play any games which i have.

Which btw is EXPLICITLY against the Steam TOS and can get the account permanently terminated.
Any form of account sharing is strictly forbidden.
Only allowed way is Family Share where everyone uses their own account.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Its pretty simple, you have to give your billing address now on Steam, even for Steam Wallet transactions. If you lie on that form and give a false name and such, well, not Steams problem.
For Steam the owner is the one who first entered the name and address and such for the account.
And they want to see proof of death for that person and that you are the designated heir for that person.

Well the billing address isn't used for that, its used for tax. It can be entirely normal to enter info completely different then yours for billing address. Such as if someone else wants to buy you a game, let you use their credit card, etc.

Also there isn't an official policy on this, there have been reports of Steam support both allowing and refusing transfering/recovery of accounts after a death. Its a huge YMMV.

[wuddih]

Include access to "value accounts" in your will. Depending on your country, a company has to obey the laws of it.

On Steam passing an account to a relative is quite unproblematic.
Payments are the only situation where personal info is "revealed".
The situation is similar with accounts for minors. Until the minor is old enough to pay for stuff, the adult pays with their details and from Steams perspective, it will look like the account owner changed one day. Shall that account be nuked? Of course not.

And Steam does not know who is sitting in front of the computer. "TOS or die" is quite stupid.

Is playing your Steam copy of Street Fighter with a friend and 2 controllers on the same computer account sharing?
Taking the SSA literally, yes.

Valve is a highly family and social friendly company. As long as no money flows, it is only ethical for Valve to allow such situations.

[Ogami]

Originally posted by wuddih:

Is playing your Steam copy of Street Fighter with a friend and 2 controllers on the same computer account sharing?
Taking the SSA literally, yes.

No its not. Account Sharing is providing other people with the login/password for your account so they may use it on their own.
That is forbidden by the TOS, not playing 2 player games with friends locally on your account.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by wuddih:

Include access to "value accounts" in your will. Depending on your country, a company has to obey the laws of it.

On Steam passing an account to a relative is quite unproblematic.
Payments are the only situation where personal info is "revealed".
The situation is similar with accounts for minors. Until the minor is old enough to pay for stuff, the adult pays with their details and from Steams perspective, it will look like the account owner changed one day. Shall that account be nuked? Of course not.

And Steam does not know who is sitting in front of the computer. "TOS or die" is quite stupid.

Is playing your Steam copy of Street Fighter with a friend and 2 controllers on the same computer account sharing?
Taking the SSA literally, yes.

Valve is a highly family and social friendly company. As long as no money flows, it is only ethical for Valve to allow such situations.

Again the official position position per the SSA is you cannot transfer it, however in practice its very YMMV as its a legal grey area. Its definitely not unproblematic. In most of the world your license dies with you. Non transferable licenses don't suddenly become transferable if the owner of it dies.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-06-what-happens-to-your-steam-account-when-you-die#:~:text=In%20the%20simplest%20terms%2C%20this,hold%20up%20upon%20your%20death.

Its on a case by case basis which has been confirmed by steam support in the past
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/7/617336568077133720/#c617336568077220427

Originally posted by steam support:

Originally Posted by Steam Support
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

This type of situation is resolved on a case by case basis.

It is against the Steam Subscriber Agreement to buy, sell, or trade a Steam account; however we are happy to work with the respective legal parties if this unfortunate event occurs.

So the more documentation you have the better, but keep in mind that its NEVER guaranteed (unless your local laws get updated in which steam will have to comply with them) and there is no law requiring the account to be transferred. Steam employee's aren't heartless monsters, but the situation is complex if you don't have all your paperwork in order so make sure to be thorough.

[Ogami]

Originally posted by brian9824:

So the more documentation you have the better, but keep in mind that its NEVER guaranteed and there is no law requiring the account to be transferred.

That may actually differ depending on the country you live in. Some countries have laws for inheriting digital content/accounts. And Valve has to follow those local laws in those cases.
But there is no universal law for it, thats true.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Originally posted by brian9824:

So the more documentation you have the better, but keep in mind that its NEVER guaranteed and there is no law requiring the account to be transferred.

That may actually differ depending on the country you live in. Some countries have laws for inheriting digital content/accounts. And Valve has to follow those local laws in those cases.
But there is no universal law for it, thats true.

I know for instance in the US there isn't a law, in the EU at least as far as when that article was posted there was no law, so that is the majority of steam accounts right there.

Do you know ANY country with a law regarding digital accounts? I mean after all the licenses in Steam are NON TRANSFERABLE, and that is true of every country steam operates in, so even if a country had a law saying the ACCOUNT could be transfered it doesn't mean the games could be for instance.

[Spawn of Totoro]

From my understanding:

Valve will not prevent the person from leaving you the log-in and password, but if you lose access to the account and can't provide the required information to prove ownership of the account (CD-Key, previous e-mail, previous credit card information, ect), then they won't be able to assist you.

They won't help you get an account that was willed to you either. You need to have the same information that would be required if you were to regain access to a compromised/lost account.

[CANCELCULTURE]

I wonder how many people have gone through Arbitration https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/#11 or asked for the higher courts to decide what happens to digital accounts willed. In the 18 years of Steam's existence and other services, no doubt some owners of accounts have died. Accounts hold a certain monetary value, funds, games, or sentimental value, It's just a matter of time. Nolo.

Search Template of a Will Clause For Digital Assets and be as detailed as possible keys, emails, cc # used. If you're dead your not going to care about being punished by breaking TOS for transferring and sharing your credentials. Most likely the services will be none the wiser about who is still using and accessing them.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197968456995 still active?
Dare, Valve close it?

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by CANCELCULTURE:

I wonder how many people have gone through Arbitration https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/#11 or asked for the higher courts to decide what happens to digital accounts willed. In the 18 years of Steam's existence and other services, no doubt some owners of accounts have died. Accounts hold a certain monetary value, funds, games, or sentimental value, It's just a matter of time. Nolo.

Search Template of a Will Clause For Digital Assets and be as detailed as possible keys, emails, cc # used. If you're dead your not going to care about being punished by breaking TOS for transferring and sharing your credentials. Most likely the services will be none the wiser about who is still using and accessing them.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197968456995 still active?
Dare, Valve close it?

Per the law they don't have to do it. Steam sells non transferable licenses which are not unique to Steam. Those licenses can't be transferred to another party. So even if a country declared the ACCOUNT could be transferred that doesn't mean the licenses attached to the account would transfer. So you could get an account without a single game license on it even if they say that accounts are transferable in the future.

Most major countries as of now do not have laws regarding death and digital goods leaving it up to individual companies to define their own policies, so you really can't take them to court over it. It's something that will be addressed eventually as the digital world is getting more and more prevalent but its a legal black hole atm.

[KAZOOIE 911]

say if a family members dies and there steam account is saved on the famliy pc and the next of kin plays theres and the dead family member steam games cause he told the son that these games all yours after I am gone. And @Winter Warlock nothing is stopping you from giving it to your kids I got my unlce's steam account when I fix my ant's computer.