Steam · Steam Subscriber Agreement · View original document ↗

Account Termination and Content Access Revocation

High severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 325 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

Valve can terminate your Steam account for violating the agreement, and because your account is non-transferable, you cannot sell or give away your games or account to anyone else.

This analysis describes what Steam's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

Account termination means loss of access to all games, content, and wallet balance associated with that account, with no ability to transfer those assets to another person or account.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

If Valve terminates your account for any conduct violation, you lose access to your entire digital library and any Steam Wallet funds, with no mechanism to transfer those assets to a new account or another person.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Close Your Account
    If you wish to close your account voluntarily, submit a request through help.steampowered.com. Note that closing your account will result in loss of access to all associated content and subscriptions.

How other platforms handle this

Runway Medium

Company may, but is not obligated to (1) monitor or review the Services and Content at any time; and (2) review User reports of violations of this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, Company shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any of Your Content for any reason, including ...

Suno Medium

You acknowledge that Suno may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Service, including the maximum period of time that data or other content will be retained by the Service and the maximum storage space that will be allotted on Suno's or its third-party service providers' serv...

Apple Pay Medium

Apple reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate your access to Apple Services and/or your Apple Account at any time, for any reason, including if Apple reasonably believes: (i) you have violated these terms or Apple's usage policies; (ii) you pose risk or possible legal exposure to Apple; ...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Your Account, including any information pertaining to it (e.g.: contact information, billing information, Account history and Subscriptions, etc.), is strictly personal. You may therefore 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.

— Excerpt from Steam's Steam Subscriber Agreement

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The account non-transferability and termination provisions interact with emerging digital asset and digital inheritance frameworks in the EU and various US states. The EU Digital Content Directive imposes obligations on suppliers of digital content to provide remedies for non-conformity, which may limit Valve's ability to terminate access without compensation in some circumstances. Consumer protection authorities in the EU and UK have examined platform account termination practices. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The combination of non-transferable accounts and termination-linked content revocation creates significant consumer financial exposure for users with large libraries. The lack of a clear appeals process or compensation mechanism described in the agreement amplifies this exposure. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU subscribers may have stronger protections under consumer law and the Digital Content Directive. California consumers may have rights under the CLRA regarding representations about digital goods. Minors' accounts present additional considerations under COPPA and applicable state law. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: The non-transferability clause precludes secondary market activity and has implications for enterprise licensing scenarios where organizational accounts might otherwise be reassigned. Procurement teams should account for platform lock-in risk. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should assess whether Valve's account termination procedures include adequate notice, appeals, and proportionality mechanisms to satisfy EU consumer law and avoid regulatory challenge. The interaction with Steam Wallet balances (which represent real money deposited by users) at termination may raise additional consumer financial protection considerations.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has jurisdiction over unfair or deceptive practices in consumer contracts, including platform account termination policies that may result in consumers losing access to paid digital goods.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

COPPA
United States Federal
CFAA
United States Federal

Provision details

Document information
Document
Steam Subscriber Agreement
Entity
Steam
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 10, 2026
Last verified
May 10, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-009222
Document ID
CA-D-00181
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
a48c504d9332997c76ae325e1e850bd8a71b90c3047d8b060770411f740081f4
Analysis generated
May 10, 2026 16:03 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Steam
Document: Steam Subscriber Agreement
Record ID: CA-P-009222
Captured: 2026-05-10 16:03:09 UTC
SHA-256: a48c504d9332997c…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/steam/steam-subscriber-agreement/account-termination-and-content-access-revocation/
Accessed: May 13, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Steam's Account Termination and Content Access Revocation clause do?

Account termination means loss of access to all games, content, and wallet balance associated with that account, with no ability to transfer those assets to another person or account.

How does this clause affect you?

If Valve terminates your account for any conduct violation, you lose access to your entire digital library and any Steam Wallet funds, with no mechanism to transfer those assets to a new account or another person.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Steam?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Steam.