Steam · Steam Subscriber Agreement

Unilateral Amendment of Agreement

Medium severity
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What it is

Valve can change this agreement at any time for any reason, and simply continuing to use Steam counts as your agreement to the new terms — even if you didn't read the update. You have no right to reject changes while continuing to use the platform.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Valve can unilaterally change any term of this agreement — including arbitration, refund policies, or content access terms — and your continued use of Steam constitutes acceptance, effectively making any user investment in the platform a lever that prevents them from rejecting adverse changes.

Cross-platform context

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

This means the terms of your relationship with Steam can change significantly at any time, and the only way to reject changes is to stop using Steam entirely and lose access to your library.

View original clause language
Valve reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this Agreement at any time (including, without limitation, to reflect changes in applicable law, payment methods, new product and service offerings, and technical adjustments). If Valve makes material changes to this Agreement, Valve will notify you in a manner that Valve determines is reasonable, which may include by posting a notice on the Steam website. Valve will also indicate at the top of this page the date this Agreement was last revised. Your continued use of Steam after such revisions constitutes your acceptance of those changes.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision implicates EU Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair contract terms (unilateral modification clauses are listed in the Annex as potentially unfair); EU Digital Content Directive 2019/770 Art. 19 (specific rules on modifications to digital services); California Consumer Legal Remedies Act Civil Code §1751; and FTC Act Section 5 regarding adequate notice of material changes to consumer contracts. The European Commission and national consumer protection authorities are primary EU enforcement bodies.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC can investigate whether passive 'continued use' acceptance of material contract changes constitutes an unfair or deceptive practice under FTC Act Section 5.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Steam Subscriber Agreement
Entity
Steam
Document last updated
April 29, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 18, 2026
Last verified
April 18, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002924
Document ID
CA-D-00181
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
50755f81522ed919eb180755a4517649cb9d59401e7c9a3de1e2701b84171d9d
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Steam | Document: Steam Subscriber Agreement | Record: CA-P-002924
Captured: 2026-04-18 10:51:33 UTC | SHA-256: 50755f81522ed919…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/steam/steam-subscriber-agreement/unilateral-amendment-of-agreement/
Accessed: May 2, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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