Can I give away my steam account?

[Murdoch]

So I've been putting this off for along time but I need to get it sorted.

I'm not going to be around for much longer (Talking weeks at this stage) and I want to give away my steam account to my Nephew before I pass. He lives in the same city as me, so you'd not suddenly see the account ebing accessed from another town, let alone another country.

Is there anyway this is possible? There will be literally no one using the account once I pass. It seems really terrible to let the games I spent years enjoying go to waste.

Thanks in advance
Murdoch

[Spawn of Totoro]

Nope.

As per the Steam Subscriber Agreement:

You may not sell or charge others for the right to use your Account, or otherwise transfer your Account, nor may you sell, charge others for the right to use, or transfer any Subscriptions other than if and as expressly permitted by this Agreement (including any Subscription Terms or Rules of Use) or as otherwise specifically permitted by Valve.

[DawdlingDan]

Tell him the account details. Username and password.

[Murdoch]

Blizzard was real good about it, they just need a death certificate and I.D of an immediate family member and they're happy to transfer ownership :(

Oh well, I'll go see how many of my games are still with-in the refund time. At least I'll get something back.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by Murdoch:

Blizzard was real good about it, they just need a death certificate and I.D of an immediate family member and they're happy to transfer ownership :(

Not according to their customer support.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/7592240755#4

Erm... no, there really isn't. Blizzard will occasionally make an exception to the rule and transfer the account to another person (typically a family member), but this is just that - an exception.

Normally, as Flats mentioned, the account will stay as it is. Blizzard is the owner, and they get to dictate what happens to it in all cases.

Or their TOS[us.blizzard.com]:

BLIZZARD’S OWNERSHIP.

Blizzard is the owner or licensee of all right, title, and interest in and to the Battle.net Client, Battle.net, the Games, Accounts, and all of the features and components thereof. Battle.net and the Games may contain materials licensed by third-parties to Blizzard, and these third-parties may enforce their ownership rights against you in the event that you violate this Agreement. The following components of Battle.net and/or the Games, are owned or licensed by Blizzard:

Sub-section:

All Accounts. Note that Blizzard owns all Accounts, and that all use of an Account shall inure to Blizzard’s benefit. Blizzard does not recognize the transfer of Accounts. You may not purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, or offer to purchase, sell, gift, or trade any Account, and any such attempt shall be null and void and may result in the forfeiture of the Account;

[NS Plover]

You could try setting up family library sharing (under settings) - he should be able to download and use your games when you are not online.

[Joki the Disco Bandit]

Originally posted by DawdlingDan:

Tell him the account details. Username and password.

This. There's no reason to have even asked the question here, when the solution is right in front of you.

[Murdoch]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

Originally posted by Murdoch:

Blizzard was real good about it, they just need a death certificate and I.D of an immediate family member and they're happy to transfer ownership :(

Not according to their customer support.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/7592240755#4

Erm... no, there really isn't. Blizzard will occasionally make an exception to the rule and transfer the account to another person (typically a family member), but this is just that - an exception.

Normally, as Flats mentioned, the account will stay as it is. Blizzard is the owner, and they get to dictate what happens to it in all cases.

Or their TOS[us.blizzard.com]:

BLIZZARD’S OWNERSHIP.

Blizzard is the owner or licensee of all right, title, and interest in and to the Battle.net Client, Battle.net, the Games, Accounts, and all of the features and components thereof. Battle.net and the Games may contain materials licensed by third-parties to Blizzard, and these third-parties may enforce their ownership rights against you in the event that you violate this Agreement. The following components of Battle.net and/or the Games, are owned or licensed by Blizzard:

Sub-section:

All Accounts. Note that Blizzard owns all Accounts, and that all use of an Account shall inure to Blizzard’s benefit. Blizzard does not recognize the transfer of Accounts. You may not purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, or offer to purchase, sell, gift, or trade any Account, and any such attempt shall be null and void and may result in the forfeiture of the Account;

Sorry but the hour long conversation I just had with their live chat trumps you tbh.

Originally posted by Blizz Mod:

Alright, I believe I understand what will need to be done in a situation like this. In the event of a death of one our players, if someone would like to recover the account and use it themselves, we require certain documentation. First, we will need the death certificate of the deceased, birth certificate of the new owner over the age of 13, as well as if they are extended family, an ID of the immediate family member verifying the change.

Anyway, thanks for your replies. Seems Steam is far less accomodating that other companies. In fact of the several I'ev talked to so far, ONLY steam has outright said NO!

[StickyPawz]

Sorry about your health issues, Murdoch … :(

You sound like a pretty *cool* uncle to your nephew!

[Murdoch]

Originally posted by Mittenz:

Sorry about your health issues, Murdoch … :(

You sound like a pretty *cool* uncle to your nephew!

Thanks mate, he's a good kid and he deserves a good life.

Anyway signing off this thread now. Thanks again guys

[Start_Running]

SOme how I wonder. First rule of the internet. Never believe anything anyone says about themselves. In this case I question ythat the story here was specifically calculated to garner immediate sympathy. It's like a course coordinator at the university said to me once:

" If a woman died everytime I heard someone ask for an exception from an exam because of the death or grave-illness of a mother, an aunt, or a grandmother; we would have nothing but men in this country."

That said the solution to your problem is simple. While technically you are not allowed to transfer your account to another person. What this really means is that you, and only you, will be held responsible for whatever mischief is committed with your account. STeam will only recognize you as the owner of the account.

That said, given your supposed scenario, you could affect an approximation of transfer by providing your nephew with the following:

* The account Username
* The Account password
* The email account linked to your account
* The password for said email account.

SHould you have the mobile gaurd/authenticator linked

* Provide them with the phone linked to the account.

They can change the email address and such to whatever they want later as well as the password but they need all that information to start. For all intents and purposes , they are you as far as steam is concerned.

If you want to lmake it more legalish, you can via your will appoint your nephew as an agent on your behalf for your Steam Account. Legal Agency pretty much means they are legally empowered to act on your behalf. Or you can just say you pass ownership of your account such as you can provided your nephew or legal guardian thereof sign in duplicate a statement stating that they fully accept the terms and conditions previously accepted by you in creating the account.

Beyond that Valve can still yoink it but generally, they really won't pay attention to the account unless someone claiming to be you contests the ownership of the account , which will be tricking since your nephew will have access to all the credentials used and associated with the account.

There. that will do it. Again keep in mind, any penalties, bans or prmischief they cause will come vback to you should the mater require legal arbitration but since you will be dead, that's probably not a concern is it. The most that would happen there is that they revoke the account. Only a problem if your nephew is the kinds to do bad stuff .

[PsychoDino]

Originally posted by Murdoch:

So I've been putting this off for along time but I need to get it sorted.

I'm not going to be around for much longer (Talking weeks at this stage) and I want to give away my steam account to my Nephew before I pass. He lives in the same city as me, so you'd not suddenly see the account ebing accessed from another town, let alone another country.

Is there anyway this is possible? There will be literally no one using the account once I pass. It seems really terrible to let the games I spent years enjoying go to waste.

Thanks in advance
Murdoch

Just give your username and password to him

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by Murdoch:

Sorry but the hour long conversation I just had with their live chat trumps you tbh.

Originally posted by Blizz Mod:

Alright, I believe I understand what will need to be done in a situation like this. In the event of a death of one our players, if someone would like to recover the account and use it themselves, we require certain documentation. First, we will need the death certificate of the deceased, birth certificate of the new owner over the age of 13, as well as if they are extended family, an ID of the immediate family member verifying the change.

Anyway, thanks for your replies. Seems Steam is far less accomodating that other companies. In fact of the several I'ev talked to so far, ONLY steam has outright said NO!

I've provided proof and supporting evidence to the contrary. Including a forum support post directly from a Blizzard rep that can be verified.

No, Valve is unlikely to transfer the account into his/her name, but as others have said, you can just give the name and password. The only issue is that if something happens and he looses control of the account, he may not be able to reclaim it as his name is not on the account.

If you want a definitive answer from Valve, I suggest submitting a support ticket. FYI, we moderators do not work for Valve so all we can go by is what is stated in the SSA, same as any other user.

[j4w4]

I have to agree with most of the other posts. Make sure your nephew has all information pertinent to your Steam account. Tell him if he uses hacks or cheats he risks losing the account. For all practical purposes the account will then be his. Technically and legally no but what are the benefits of having that type of ownership anyway? Unless the account got hacked maybe.

I will say it is gay of Valve not to allow this type of transfer. But if they won't even do it for living people then it's not discriminatory at all. It's just that they're greedy people.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by j4w4:

I have to agree with most of the other posts. Make sure your nephew has all information pertinent to your Steam account. Tell him if he uses hacks or cheats he risks losing the account. For all practical purposes the account will then be his. Technically and legally no but what are the benefits of having that type of ownership anyway? Unless the account got hacked maybe.

I will say it is gay of Valve not to allow this type of transfer. But if they won't even do it for living people then it's not discriminatory at all. It's just that they're greedy people.

Do you know how many dead people manage to vote or apply for credit cards each year,. Or how many people are accidentally declared dead and have to prove that they are still alive. COnsidering the international nature of Valve. Valve has no way pf actually proving who you are beyond what you have given them. A death certificat means nothing since anyone who has seen one, can forge one. Same for wills.

They operate on a don't ask, don't tell. They will assume that whomever is logging in is the owner of the account and that's it.

[j4w4]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

Originally posted by j4w4:

I have to agree with most of the other posts. Make sure your nephew has all information pertinent to your Steam account. Tell him if he uses hacks or cheats he risks losing the account. For all practical purposes the account will then be his. Technically and legally no but what are the benefits of having that type of ownership anyway? Unless the account got hacked maybe.

I will say it is gay of Valve not to allow this type of transfer. But if they won't even do it for living people then it's not discriminatory at all. It's just that they're greedy people.

Do you know how many dead people manage to vote or apply for credit cards each year,. Or how many people are accidentally declared dead and have to prove that they are still alive. COnsidering the international nature of Valve. Valve has no way pf actually proving who you are beyond what you have given them. A death certificat means nothing since anyone who has seen one, can forge one. Same for wills.

They operate on a don't ask, don't tell. They will assume that whomever is logging in is the owner of the account and that's it.

*sigh* Agreed, it's a difficult situation.