Steam Policy for Inactivity? :: Steam Discussions

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Jenixa 22 hours ago

Steam Policy for Inactivity?

So my buddy has not had access to a pc for some time (PC fried). He regularly checks in via the Steam App on his phone. Today he noticed that his game for FFXIV is gone. He contacted Steam support and they told him that due to his inactivity they have locked him out of his Steam version of the game.

Apparently this has happened to him before with Star Wars the Old Republic.

He has managed to contact Square Enix. As long as they purchase the license for PS4/PS5 he can play via there. (hurray)

I've been looking around online and I don't see anything about Steam having a policy that locks a user out from a game due to inactivity...is anyone able to elaborate on this ?

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Showing 1-10 of 10 comments

Komarimaru 22 hours ago

Never heard of such a policy. And I play FF14 on and off ever couple of years. My licenses has always been there.

Hikari Light 22 hours ago

No, Valve/Steam does not have the authority to lock you out of your games due to inactivity.

Final Fantasy 14 requires an active subscription to play, so his sub must of ran out.

For Star Wars The Old Republic, you would need to contact EA, but I doubt they are going to lock you out for not playing for a year.
Heck I stopped for a few years and returned with no issues.

Is he logged in on the right Steam account?
He may have logged in on the wrong Steam account by mistake.

Last edited by Hikari Light; 22 hours ago

Chika Ogiue 22 hours ago

Originally posted by Jenixa:
Today he noticed that his game for FFXIV is gone. He contacted Steam support and they told him that due to his inactivity they have locked him out of his Steam version of the game.

Also never heard of this. How did he contact Steam support? Has he also tried to restore the missing game?

To do that, click on support. Type the name of the game in the search bar at the bottom of the page. Click on "It's not in my library" and follow the instructions.

Last edited by Chika Ogiue; 22 hours ago

GGcake 22 hours ago

Originally posted by Hikari Light:
No, Valve/Steam does not have the authority to lock you out of your games due to inactivity.

Final Fantasy 14 requires an active subscription to play, so his sub must of ran out.

For Star Wars The Old Republic, you would need to contact EA, but I doubt they are going to lock you out for not playing for a year.
Heck I stopped for a few years and returned with no issues.

Is he logged in on the right Steam account?
He may have logged in on the wrong Steam account by mistake.

Dont lie. Steam has the authority to do whatever it wants, like delete your whole account just for ♥♥♥♥♥ and giggles.
We all agreed to their steams which does state they can do whatever they want for any reason at any time

HereIsPlenty 22 hours ago

Originally posted by GGcake:
Originally posted by Hikari Light:
No, Valve/Steam does not have the authority to lock you out of your games due to inactivity.

Final Fantasy 14 requires an active subscription to play, so his sub must of ran out.

For Star Wars The Old Republic, you would need to contact EA, but I doubt they are going to lock you out for not playing for a year.
Heck I stopped for a few years and returned with no issues.

Is he logged in on the right Steam account?
He may have logged in on the wrong Steam account by mistake.

Dont lie. Steam has the authority to do whatever it wants, like delete your whole account just for ♥♥♥♥♥ and giggles.
We all agreed to their steams which does state they can do whatever they want for any reason at any time

Dont spread misinformation. I dont know you but Hikari is a regular on these forums. Valve do not arbitrarily do things.

Hikari Light 22 hours ago

Originally posted by GGcake:
Originally posted by Hikari Light:
No, Valve/Steam does not have the authority to lock you out of your games due to inactivity.

Final Fantasy 14 requires an active subscription to play, so his sub must of ran out.

For Star Wars The Old Republic, you would need to contact EA, but I doubt they are going to lock you out for not playing for a year.
Heck I stopped for a few years and returned with no issues.

Is he logged in on the right Steam account?
He may have logged in on the wrong Steam account by mistake.

Dont lie. Steam has the authority to do whatever it wants, like delete your whole account just for ♥♥♥♥♥ and giggles.
We all agreed to their steams which does state they can do whatever they want for any reason at any time

I play BOTH of those games myself.
So Im pretty sure I know better than you how they work.

And if you knew anything, Steam CANNOT stop us from accessing a game on our account.

Also Valve actually cannot delete our accounts for no reason.
Even to lock one they have to have a valid reason, usually illegal activity.
But deleting is only done when the account owner triggers it, Steam staff cannot do it.
(Steam staff would lose their job if they deleted a users account for no reason)

Last edited by Hikari Light; 22 hours ago

deeper 21 hours ago

I've been on the platform longer than most and this is the first I've heard about this. It sounds like a Square Enix account issue, possibly related to this thread.

https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/app/39210/discussions/0/5229256689880790264/

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 20 hours ago

Game devs can pull this type of stuff for their online mmos. Even Amazon did it with Lost Ark.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/inactive-lost-ark-players-hit-by-wave-of-steam-game-bans

Valve themselves do not.

Chika Ogiue 18 hours ago

Originally posted by GGcake:
Dont lie. Steam has the authority to do whatever it wants, like delete your whole account just for ♥♥♥♥♥ and giggles.
We all agreed to their steams which does state they can do whatever they want for any reason at any time

Name a situation where Valve has done that. We'll wait.

Nx Machina 17 hours ago

I have played FFXIV for years on and off, i have never being locked out due to inactivity. You can only be locked out of playing if your subscription is inactive.

As for SWtOR i have played it for years on and off and have never being locked out due to inactivity as it is free to play with a voluntary subscription.

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Date Posted: 20 Dec @ 7:05pm

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