Steam sells DRM-free games too, you can download them and then uninstall Steam and they will work. In this case though, on top of purchasing the game, you are buying a license to download updates for it through Steam. It's a developer decision.

[–] Feyd@programming.dev 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

DRM is orthagonal to ownership

[–] warm@kbin.earth 20 points 4 days ago

I do not disagree?

[–] blindsight@beehaw.org 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You still aren't "purchasing" it.

For example, you don't have right of resale the same way you would with physical goods. You're buying a license to the game for personal use, regardless, you just don't have DRM limiting your access.

[–] warm@kbin.earth 11 points 4 days ago

Well that's just digital goods, not Steam specifically.

You do get all the files for the game, that will work for as long as the OS will run them, with or without Steam (this is as close as you can come to ownership for software). Rather than a license to use them files, which become useless if you don't run the game through Steam.