The harsh truth is timed to a new California law against false advertising.

Valve is now explicitly disclosing that you don’t own the games you buy from its Steam online store. The company has added a note on the payment checkout screen stating that “a purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam,” as reported earlier by Engadget.

Valve will now warn players they're only buying a license to a game on Steam, not actual ownership of the game, ahead of new California legislation.