EULA - What you don't read can hurt you- Nerd Age editorial

This was originally written by Scholar for Technorati.

EULA (End User License Agreements) are very common in gaming these days. But with them being so common, you need to be aware of what they mean to you as a player.

We’re going to have several examples of some of the more restrictive EULA agreements in gaming today. Let’s start with one that I wrote about previously here.

The terms of League of Legends change constantly, but it is important to know one particular clause.  While I won’t bore you with the whole thing, here is the most important part:

“You acknowledge and agree that Riot Games, in its sole and absolute discretion, may stop providing support for or access to the Game at any time, for any reason or no reason. You also agree that Riot Games may change, modify, suspend, “nerf,” discontinue, or restrict your access to any features or parts of the Game at any time without notice or liability to you. You acknowledge that you have no interest, monetary or otherwise, in any feature of or content in the Software or the Game.”

This is all quoted exactly (some parts are in bold for emphasis) from their EULA. Basically it means that even if you have spent hundreds of dollars on this game they can ban you for any or no reason.

I have to ask Riot something, how can I have no monetary interest in a game I have spent hundreds of dollars on? The free to play argument is weak and doesn’t apply when the game has significant amounts of content you can only access through real money. On top of that they can take away your ability to play it freely, which was a major selling point for the game.

Another major restriction of the EULA is that it gives companies like EA untold power over you and your games. Gaming site Rockpapershotgun and many others reported that one user was locked out of his EA account. This was simply due to speaking out against Bioware on their forums.  This meant that he could no longer play a full, expensive game he paid for. This was eventually cleared up after a significant amount of controversy was sparked.

So not only can the EULA cause you get get banned from a game for things you do in game, I could actually have my accounts banned for simply writing this article. In practical terms EULA is a free license for game companies to silence their fanbase. This isn’t how gaming used to be.

The Battlefield 3 EULA also sparked controversy, as it would have allowed EA to gather personal information from you after you agreed to it. They changed it after a significant outcry from several communities such as Reddit.

If you are an average gamer, this isn’t a problem really. Just keep quiet and you should be fine, or stay hard to identify.  If you are someone who is concerned about the state of gaming, this is more of a call to action. Companies should be told that their fans are important, and playing around with them like this isn’t acceptable.  At the very least, be sure to start reading you the EULA when you get a new game.