A Chinese court ruled video game accounts can be inherited like property — should that be the norm everywhere?
A Chinese court just ruled that video game accounts — with all their unlocked content, in-game currency, and years of progress — can legally pass to an heir, treating them as inheritable property instead of a non-transferable license. Most platforms' terms of service say otherwise today. Should your account and everything in it be treated as something you actually own?
As reported by outlets such as Tom's Hardware and China's People's Court Daily, Chinese courts recently ruled that video game accounts and virtual items carry real economic value under civil law and can be legally inherited by a deceased user's family. The court decisions established that statutory inheritance rights override platform Terms of Service, which traditionally classify accounts as non-transferable licenses that expire upon the holder's death. This ruling sets a major legal precedent for digital ownership, standing in sharp contrast to Western platforms like Steam and fueling a broader debate over whether digital purchases should be treated as personal property worldwide.
