Valve vows not to change, despite EU ruling

Despite a European court ruling last week, that validated the resale of games from a digital download platform, Valve has announced that it plans to make no changes to its current setup on Steam – squashing the hopes of those looking to make a quick buck on their old game buys.

The statement was made by Valve's director of business development, Jason Holtman, saying “we don't have any plans to change” when quizzed on the subject by PCGamesn.  Considering the specific ruling in the European court was that publishers “could not oppose the resale of used licenses,” Holtman's defiance is curious. Of course, with the court's decision being software based and not specific to gaming or digital distribution platforms like Steam, it might turn out to not be applicable in the end, but for now there is a big argument for people being able to resell games they no longer play.

While Valve might be somewhat safe in its position for now, those attempting to hinder used game sales through the use of online passes, or always on DRM, could find themselves in a spot of bother if anyone ever chooses to stand up to them. The used game industry is worth billions and by deliberately removing content from used games unless they are in-turn given extra money, game publishers are being very anti-competitive.

KitGuru Says: Though Valve might be giving a big thumbs down to the idea of reselling Steam games for now, if given an ultimatum, it wouldn't be surprising if the gaming giant allowed it, but took a cut off the top. After all, once a game is sold on Steam no one makes any more money from it (unless DLC is involved), but with the potential for resales, Valve and the game's developer could make a little extra every time its resold.

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