Having your collection managed digitally offers lasting benefits.
Having your collection managed digitally offers lasting benefits.
I have around 20 games on my Steam account. The rest are just for one-time play, and even those I could live without—it’s not like my music collection for some reason. I’d fight hard to keep those.
Using Steam, even if a title is removed from the store, you can still get it. I own a game named I-Fluid whose page was taken down, making it impossible to buy anymore. Still, I can download, install, and enjoy it without problems. If Steam ever stopped letting you get games that were pulled—even after purchase—that would be a big issue. That’s why I keep a 10TB drive for all my games, so I always have them ready. If an X title stops being playable, I’d crack the .exe to keep playing it. After losing a few online games, not being able to access them is something I worry about from time to time. The idea of moving toward "Games as a Service" really worries me, since it means we’re relying heavily on companies. One day Planetside 2 and Tera Online might disappear completely, which would be disappointing.
The core problem is that no one expects a company to maintain servers for every game and for the end of times. It's about losing access to games, similar to how books or movies are affected. Keeping all games available is crucial for future players, which is a big part of my gaming experience. Disconnecting the server means losing interest in the game, so removing DRM is the right step. Don't just stop playing—remove the restrictions completely.