contract-law commerce
Can a digital marketplace restrict access to download content you purchased?
<p>Let's say a company created the video game console X and sells games on that platform through a digital marketplace. You spent $200 on 10 games for this platform.</p>

<p>Then a few years down the line, the company creates another video game console Y and does the same, but they decide to pull the marketplace for X and prevent you from re-downloading the content you purchased.</p>

<p>Adding on to this, I know that you cannot refund digital products after you download or stream them and you are technically just buying a license to use the software, but I'm not sure if you can be completely revoked from access to them, except for clearly printed time gated content (such as rentals).</p>

<p>Is this legal in the EU, US, or Australia?</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>...you are technically just buying a license to use the software</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That's the most important part of your question: the terms of use (TOS) of the software company for their products will stipulate the usage of their products, and in that TOS will be a clause about the possible limited compatibility of software with new products and consoles. And there is probably a clause that says they can change the TOS without warning. I.e., they can change when they offer the software for download, what version of their software will run on which console, and on and on.</p>

<p>When you buy the software, you agree to that TOS and the software license agreement. It's a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_wrap" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Click wrap (Wikipedia)</a> contract that is legally binding. You could argue that it may protect the company more than you, the consumer, but that's what you agree to when you buy and download.</p>

<p>Now, there are consumer protection laws in many countries that may well forbid limitations on downloads, and other laws may forbid other draconian clauses in a TOS, but those laws will vary greatly with jurisdiction.</p>
