Blizzard updates EULA: Account locked if you don’t agree, “No Ownership” clause added

YouTuber Louis Rossmann found out that Blizzard had updated their End User License Agreement and it will lock you out of your account if you don’t agree to them. The new EULA seems to suggest that Blizzard doesn’t want you to own your games or any other purchases.

The updated Blizzard End User License Agreement stirred up a lot of discussion online. Rossmann made a video explaining in depth how the new rules apply and how the changes affect users. He noted that Blizzard appears to be following the path taken by Sony and Roku. With Blizzard’s agreements, if you don’t accept their new terms, you’ll be logged out of your account directly. So, if you want to use your account, you have to accept their new terms.

Blizzard end user license agreement - (source)

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO INSTALL, COPY, OR USE THE BLIZZARD PLATFORM OR GAMES. IF YOU REJECT THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT WITHIN FOURTEEN (14) DAYS AFTER YOUR PURCHASE OF A GAME FROM BLIZZARD, YOU MAY CONTACT BLIZZARD THROUGHhttps://us.battle.net/support/en/TO INQUIRE ABOUT A FULL REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THAT GAME. IF YOU PURCHASED A GAME AT RETAIL, YOUR RIGHT TO RETURN THE GAME IS SUBJECT TO THE RETAILER’S RETURN POLICY.

What’s interesting is that if you bought these games before the agreement changed, you can’t get your money back.

In Blizzard’s latest user agreement update, it’s clearly mentioned that you no longer own the digital games you buy from Blizzard:

Blizzard end user license agreement - (source)

Your use of the Platform is licensed, not sold, to you, and you hereby acknowledge that no title or ownership with respect to the Platform or the Games is being transferred or assigned and this Agreement should not be construed as a sale of any rights.

With this ruling Blizzard states that the purchases you make are not sold to you, but licensed. This has caused for major commotion on websites like Reddit. User u/lunk says: “Blizzard’s transformation into one of the world’s biggest pieces of shit is almost complete”, while u/anticitizen_01 states: “The Blizzard Entertainment that you loved growing up, that made some of the greatest games ever. Has long been dead, those people that made the company so great are long gone.” The Reddit thread is filled with players agreeing with them.

Be sure to check out the full video made by Rossman below.

Blizzard changes EULA to include forced arbitration & you “dont own anything”.
byu/Lyianx ingaming

5 comments

  1. Is … is this your first time reading the EULA ?

    Your Blizzard games have always been licensed to you. You’ve never owned them. In fact everything you’ve written about what Blizzard will “now do” has always been a thing.

  2. Bluspacecow wrote:
    Is … is this your first time reading the EULA ?

    Your Blizzard games have always been licensed to you. You’ve never owned them. In fact everything you’ve written about what Blizzard will “now do” has always been a thing.

    No.
    This was a recent change.
    If you think you can prove otherwise, then please provide it.

    • No.
      This was not a recent change. Bluspacecow is right, this have always been like this. Not only that, but this is true for every other digital store front, not just Blizzard. Proof? Here is a snapshot from 2021 EULA from Internet Archive

      https://perma.cc/LRG3-QURC

  3. Someone should go get a copy of Windows 3.0 and read the EULA for it. Or Word for Windows 1.1 (that ran on Windows 2.x). Or any software from 35 years ago. “This software is licensed, not sold” has been in EULAs forever.

  4. Arixson Ulfhedinn

    This isn’t new, this has been real for many decades, people are just now being outraged by what us digital dinosaurs already knew, ya’ll didn’t want to listen when we popped up and tried to warn you.