Steam users who have died?

[Laptop]

Was curious if Valve did anything for Steam users who have passed away (say you have a profile with lots of friends commenting "RIP", so you know it is legit). A friend of mine has lost an online friend very recently and it made me wonder if anything is actually done for their profiles.

Facebook just locks the account so it cannot be logged into anymore, does Steam (Valve) do anything for them if they are presented with proof? Or do they just leave them be?

Cheers

[MainframeMouse]

For a moment I thought someone was asking what happens to the thousands of pounds worth of game the deceased owned and whether the next of kin will get them.

To be honest I think VALVe would just let the account gather virtual dust.

[J4MESOX4D]

Someone asked this a few years back and Support responded with this:-

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.

If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.

Original thread http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2227370
_______________________________________________________________________________

Not much information available regarding this and Support's response is rather generic but it suggests that if such a thing occurs; it will be determined by a case by case basis. I think the only viable option for all parties would be to close the account for security reasons. It doesn't appear they cater to the deceased in any which way either in terms of a 'legacy' and the strict licence rules are present in this situation too which is of no surprise. I imagine that it would be quite a complex and timely process to confirm the death of a user with all the correct documentation that has to be vetted also.

It may be worth Valve considering in the future a 'next of kin' feature where a trusted secondary person can access your account to close it if such a thing occurs but this could also be a tough system to implement without the risk of fraud.

[zachjd]

I do have one Steam friend confirmed dead after his brother added me. I just keep him as a friend out of respect.

[Sparse Dunes]

I wanted to have all my games with me in a similar fashion to a Viking Funeral.

[bubbledouble]

Originally posted by ZachD:

I do have one Steam friend confirmed dead after his brother added me. I just keep him as a friend out of respect. :blue:

can u tell me his account please?

[Ubertoaster]

Originally posted by Bubble_Double:

Originally posted by ZachD:

I do have one Steam friend confirmed dead after his brother added me. I just keep him as a friend out of respect. :blue:

can u tell me his account please?

Why the heck would you need to know his profile, respect the dead by not staring at their profile.

[bubbledouble]

Originally posted by Ubertoaster:

Originally posted by Bubble_Double:

can u tell me his account please?

Why the heck would you need to know his profile, respect the dead by not staring at their profile.

so sorry (i forgot that this is real thing)