Hard to say if we'd have instant refunds if Steam were to shut down.

read the term of service

in the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users will continue to have access to thier Steam games

sit and think about why steam would shut down..

do ford still make cars..

Originally posted by ragefifty50:

sit and think about why steam would shut down..

do ford still make cars..

we talking something major , like ... the internet die
a war...

but a competitor could .. surface... and eat steam yes. its possible

Simple, you lose all your games, still the event of this happening is extremely unlikely.

Originally posted by Capt.Luke:

read the term of service

in the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users will continue to have access to thier Steam games

Yeah I’ve got read it though it’s quite outdated from when this site was first made type of wording that’s been around for many years

What’s changed regarding Steam’s long-term viability in the interim to make you feel it’s out-of-date?

Originally posted by Tricky:

I know steam support could answer this quite easy but I always wonder about this because I buy so many steam games and always enjoy them like just bought Walking dead saints and sinners but what happens when steam shutsdown would it be all the money spent on these games just gone or?

Well what happens is you need to describe the circumstances a bit more. Because the reality is Steam doesn't live in a bubble, and it's not just going to randomly shut down. A lot of things have to happen and the specifics of the outcome would depend a lot on the what's and why's Steam's status is changing.

So what happens when Steam goes through a decade long decline where a majority of their users stop using it and no one cares because they haven't used Steam in years... What happened to the VHS tapes you stopped caring about in 2005.

What happens when Steam is bought up by Amazon, Google, or MS and their service is absorbed into another and you don't really lose anything even though Steam doesn't really exist anymore?

And what happens in the made up scenario where hundreds of millions of users are buying games and Steam just randomly shuts down with no warning or explanation and most people still want their content? Nothing because that's not a reasonable scenario.

Valve has stated that in the event they shut down they would release a patch to remove thier DRM.

So all your steam games would be like GoG games.

Originally posted by ÁROCK!!!:

Valve has stated that in the event they shut down they would release a patch to remove thier DRM.

Yeah, this is an old statement from Valve. Who knows where exactly they stand these days (especially with their platform being a lot more complicated than it used to be). I mean, they might still mean it, but it's not like it's a circumstance that's been tested.

That said, and perhaps more importantly, the Steam platform closing down seems very unlikely in the near future due to the sheer size of the store and customer base; if Valve becomes insolvent, it's far more likely that another company will buy Steam. And at that point, all bets are off as to what the new company will do when they close down.

Originally posted by ragefifty50:

sit and think about why steam would shut down...

The average lifespan of any business is 18 years.

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/why-you-will-probably-live-longer-than-most-big-companies/#:~:text=A%20recent%20study%20by%20McKinsey,S%26P%20500%20will%20have%20disappeared.

To be fair, that's just an average. Valve might still be around 100 years from now, or they might unexpectedly fold next year. No one actually knows the future, beyond some set of reasonable possibilities.

Originally posted by Mr. Monday:

Originally posted by ragefifty50:

sit and think about why steam would shut down...

The average lifespan of any business is 18 years.

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/why-you-will-probably-live-longer-than-most-big-companies/#:~:text=A%20recent%20study%20by%20McKinsey,S%26P%20500%20will%20have%20disappeared.

Well, sure. If they are consulted by McKinsey, they probably won't last long by virtue of having no clue and overspending to rent out-of-house talent and fancy business suit consultants.
And if not, I wouldn't give much about a study done or financed by a freaking consultant company who's whole business is to tell you how to run your business.

Originally posted by ÁROCK!!!:

Valve has stated that in the event they shut down they would release a patch to remove thier DRM.

So all your steam games would be like GoG games.

That's wishful thinking though.
The only real answer is: we don't know. Just because someone ten years or so ago said something doesn't mean it will still be honoured ten years from now.

Originally posted by Aachen:

:chghost: Probably some of the most-unlikely failure states of Steam involves Valve handing all the money back to the users.

:messagebottle: Some old iterations on the subject can be browsed here and here; there are others as well.

IF - and that is a big if, because it is not happening - Steam is down to the point it has to close down, users will not see much of their money back, my personal guess not even a penny.

More realistic, in my opinion, would either a buyout of the Steam library with players keeping the existing library - there may be cuts or changes - or, in the event of full insolvency, letting players keep already installed games, with any games in your library not yet installed probably gone.