What do people mean when they say you don’t actually own the games you buy digitally?

Question

I guess this comes under both technology and economics.

But yeah I don’t get it. You pay money for a game, you now own that game. That’s how a transaction works. If I don’t own it what on earth did I pay all that money for? How can companies get away with this?

In: Technology

Answer 1

I would also add that you don’t “own” something you buy on physical media either. You own the disc, box and manual but don’t own the contents of the disc. Digital licensing is basically the same thing other than the absence of the physical items.