alt Hacker NewsNot a bad idea, but why does this only apply to games?
I prime example of other software this would have benefited is AutoCAD.
People who refused the conversion to a subscription, and maintained their "lifetime" licenses, where shut down after a couple of years.
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Because going up against all types of big software publishers at once would invite MUCH more lobbying which would make any progress likely impossible. Better to start in one area, gaming in this case, to get a precedent out there, which then makes the fight against general software publishers easier.
It would be fair in general to disallow charging a one-time fee for something that's shut down soon later. I don't expect perpetual support, but there should be some target based on the price that any well-intended software maker will exceed.
Also if you advertise "lifetime license," that should mean lifetime.
How were they shut down? Like as in the old software refuses to start or they cant renew maintenance / no security updates?
Agreed! Far too many companies selling software as lifetime license and their renegade on that deal. A refund should be allowed. Or simply make the software offline without drm
I thought they just wanted to thwart DRM; people still pirate AutoCAD 2018.