Recently, Reddit user Top-Flight5486 posted that his father, who has been told he only has a few months to live due to cancer, had amassed a rich library of games on Steam over the past five years, which had become a lifeline for him. The user explained that his father wanted to leave this valuable digital legacy to his family, but due to Steam's regulations, the account and purchased games cannot be transferred, potentially extinct upon his death.

According to the Steam Terms of Service, accounts and purchased games cannot be transferred, meaning that upon his father's death, all these digital assets would be lost. The poster expressed confusion, questioning why physical books and records can be passed on, but digital assets cannot. Many netizens suggested that users could continue to use their father's account by inheriting his login information, but the user believes this is not a true solution. He believes that a legal inheritance method is necessary, as breaking the rules to preserve precious things is wrong.

Previously, a user had contacted Valve to discuss the possibility of account inheritance, but was told that accounts and games could not be transferred. The discussion of digital legacy on Steam has been going on for quite some time. For example, in 2024, when a user inquired with Valve about account inheritance, they were told that transfers were not allowed. Since Steam launched in 2003, over 20,000 games have been released through it, and the challenges of managing these purchase systems seem to be becoming increasingly apparent.