I actually own
The funny thing is, you don't own them.
this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2025
87 points (80.4% liked)
Games
40285 readers
2463 users here now
Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.
Rules
1. Submissions have to be related to games
Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.
This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.
2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil
No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.
We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.
3. No excessive self-promotion
Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.
This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.
4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts
This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you're submitting before posting to see if it's already been posted.
We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.
5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW
Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.
No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.
6. No linking to piracy
Don't share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.
We don't want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.
Authorized Regular Threads
Related communities
PM a mod to add your own
Video games
Generic
- !gaming@Lemmy.world: Our sister community, focused on PC and console gaming. Meme are allowed.
- !photomode@feddit.uk: For all your screenshots needs, to share your love for games graphics.
- !vgmusic@lemmy.world: A community to share your love for video games music
Help and suggestions
By platform
By type
- !AutomationGames@lemmy.zip
- !Incremental_Games@incremental.social
- !LifeSimulation@lemmy.world
- !CityBuilders@sh.itjust.works
- !CozyGames@Lemmy.world
- !CRPG@lemmy.world
- !OtomeGames@ani.social
- !Shmups@lemmus.org
- !VisualNovels@ani.social
By games
- !Baldurs_Gate_3@lemmy.world
- !Cities_Skylines@lemmy.world
- !CassetteBeasts@Lemmy.world
- !Fallout@lemmy.world
- !FinalFantasyXIV@lemmy.world
- !Minecraft@Lemmy.world
- !NoMansSky@lemmy.world
- !Palia@Lemmy.world
- !Pokemon@lemm.ee
- !Skyrim@lemmy.world
- !StardewValley@lemm.ee
- !Subnautica2@Lemmy.world
- !WorkersAndResources@lemmy.world
Language specific
- !JeuxVideo@jlai.lu: French
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
87
Yep, I actually own 7,255 games on Steam. I’ve played 23% of my library. I regret nothing.
(lemmy.world)
Why do I play all these games? Because it’s important that they’re played.
Because every game is a story, a world, a moment in time crafted by someone who cared enough to create it.
Because each one teaches me something new—about design, about culture, about myself.
Because in a sea of pixels, there’s magic waiting to be found.
And because, honestly? Sometimes I just want to escape, explore, and lose myself in different worlds.
So yeah. I own thousands of games, and I’ll keep playing them.
Say what you will, every game I’ve bought—I can still play. And I’ve been buying Steam games for over a decade.
Meanwhile, none of my GameCube discs work on my Switch.
You can still play them on your GameCube or Wii though, or take copies of the discs and play them on anything that runs Dolphin
While you're not wrong, by that logic, it's actually fairly trivial to take my Steam downloads drive and run it on any computer even without my Steam account.
Does that work? I always assumed games with DRM wouldn't work if they couldn't authenticate to your Steam account.
It works in the same way that dumping your GameCube games and running them on Dolphin works... It's quick and easy, but it's against the ToS and requires breaking DRM.
Steam's DRM is weak, and in some interviews some Valve developers even gave hints that this is on purpose. Many Steam games will simply run without Steam if you just double click the .exe in the install folder, and the vast majority that only rely on Steam's DRM can be opened by running a free "Steam Emulator" software that pretends to be an active Steam account with a correct license.
You can still play it but increasingly games are becoming very different from what you bought.
I've started noticing a disturbing trend. More and more games that are older being sold at steep discounts or "free to play" and simultaneously jampacked with invasive telemetry and/or ads/microtransactions. And since Steam won't let you play older versions, those games are effectively dead.
That is what firewalls and sinkholes are for. Stupid telemetry.
Yet I never noticed such a "trend" in direct combination with steam. The whole industry goes to shit, but it's not steam's fault.
Out of the thousands of games I have, not once have I noticed anything like you describe.
Oh well if you haven't experienced it, it must not exist then 🤷
hmmm that doesn't ring a bell here either. Which games do this ?
The most recent ones I've noticed are Riders Republic and Borderlands 2. Helldivers also introduced a bunch of new microtransactions years after it's launch.
And what there is steam's doing? Borderland's a greedy IP from a greedy company. What do you expect?
I have to say I never played those. Do these microtransactions lock content that was previously available out of the box?
I mean, if it’s a trend, you’d think I would have noticed it by now.
And I suppose my experience doesn't count? Or you think I'm making this up?
I don’t know, you haven’t pointed out multiple examples.
But the vast majority can be played without steam. Mostly by force coughcough but still. I know, still no legal ownership.
Why do I play all these games? Because it's important that they're played.
Well, evidently not since you're actively ignoring about 77% of them 😂 And who boasts about their hyperconsumerism on fucking Lemmy of all platforms 😂
Wrong. Not ignored—not played yet.
Come on, none of us will ever play all their games. I'd bet around 2000 of my games on steam are some free keys or other incredibly cheap shit I wouldn't touch with a 10m-pole. If I'd ever find them again in the library, that is.
But I admire your positivity and optimism 😁
Hey, I’ve played every game I purchased between 2012-15.
Playing for an hour to see how shitty it is? Or actually bought to enjoy for manymany hours, as intended? Thought so 😁 For us peeps with way more than a few k games, 20% actually been played would be already the big numbers I'd guess.
Not ignored—not played yet.
Journal, July 3, 2025:
The day opened with a round of Barbie Project Friendship.
I then followed it up with survival horror Amnesia: The Bunker from survival horror specialists Frictional Games.
Next on the list was gay dom/sub dating sim Blood Domination.
Then hard milsim Command: Modern Operations.
I wound down with some relaxing time in art toy Zen Trails.
I have always been partial to variety.
23% played? That’s basically 100% by Steam standards. You’ve officially made it.
The comments of this thread give off major Reddit energy. Sure the post is a little fedora-lordish but why not add meaningful input by discussing the value of games and their stories like the post suggests, rather than bashing a stranger for no reason other than hypercriticalism?
It's not a crime to enjoy something. Just because someone has a differing view does not make it a wrong view. And honestly if I get downvoted, it kinda proves that lemmings just critisize others and hate when someone is critical of them. Hypocrisy at its finest.
I too have chosen to spend a good chunk of my money on games, and came to, you know the "games" lemmy instance, to talk about them. That's not hyper-consumerism, its me finding happiness in a world where there's not much to be happy about. Like op said, it's a way to escape, explore, and lose yourself.
lol I'll feel like I'm heading in the same direction😅
23% average game completion rate? Or “has been loaded at least once”?
Unapologetically, I’m a non-completionist.
Only complete the games you’re compelled to complete.
Nice. Life is short, play games
How much have you spent
A few thousand dollars.
Never bought a single game at full price. Almost all the time, it’s at least 90% off. Lots of game bundles abound. And free games are given away all the time.
Well I’m happy for you if owning so many games makes you happy as it supports a hobby I love.
Personnaly, I think that not finishing so many of your games shows some kind of problem, but I’m not a psychologist. Owning so many too..
I might even have the inverted problem as I feel like it’s an obligation for me to finish a game unless I don’t like it.
Did you finish all of them? Or at least play them for an hour? If you’re using steam for 20 years, that’s a game a day.
I definitely don’t complete all of them. My goal is to at least play an hour each, but not every game is worth an hour.
The most time I’ve ever spent on a game is around 100 hours.