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Want to leave your Steam account to a friend or family member in your will? It turns out, you can't

As if dying didn't suck enough already.

The Steam logo in front of key art for various games.
Image credit: Valve

Sorry, it seems like you won't be able to leave your bloated Steam library to anyone in your will - it's against Valve's terms of service.

Picture this: you're dying (sorry to hear that, by the way). You've not got long left, and you need to make sure your will is in order. But rats! You just remembered - your Steam account filled with 1039 games (863 of which you've never played) isn't mentioned anywhere. So, you write a list of all the people you could bequeath it to, eventually settling on your cousin Eileen because she's the only gaming family member you have. Then, oops, your time runs out, you make your way up to those pearly gates, and live out the rest of time filled with eternal peace. Accept, as you watch your will being read aloud, you notice a familiar face in the crowd - it's Gabe Newell, and he's there to personally make sure your Steam account isn't handed over to Eileen, because, well, you're not allowed to do that.

Yes, that's right, as first reported by Ars Technica, Resetera user delete12345 recently shared the fact that you are not allowed to put your Steam account in your will. When asked about whether ownership of their Steam account can be transferred via a will, Steam Support responded, "Unfortunately, Steam accounts and games are non-transferable. Steam Support can't provide someone else with access to the account or merge its contents with another account. I regret to inform you that your Steam account cannot be transferred via a will."

Now, sure, you could share your password with someone else, but that's actually against the Steam Subscriber Agreement too - "You may not reveal, share, or otherwise allow others to use your password or Account except as otherwise specifically authorized by Valve." That does sound like it means you can give your password to someone else through a will if you get Valve to give the all-clear first, though, so maybe there's still hope. So if you do it, just be careful about it, OK? Don't want you getting kicked out of heaven over your Steam library.

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