Game accounts, cryptocurrency, and social media profiles can be inherited: a judicial precedent has been established in China

In China, a judicial practice has developed whereby heirs can obtain rights to the accounts of deceased gamers, their in-game items, and other digital assets. Unlike many other countries where users effectively only hold a license to use digital content, Chinese courts increasingly recognize such assets as property that can be included in an inheritance.

The court recognized an in-game item as an object of inheritance

One of the most well-known precedents is the so-called Golden Blade case, which arose after the death of a player named Lu.

During his lifetime, he obtained a rare artifact called Golden Blade in the MMORPG Zhengtu, which is now defunct. After the man's death, his wife Li Lan decided to sell the artifact. At the same time, another player in the game, who was his "in-game wife," Yang Yuan, claimed she also had rights to the item because she helped acquire it.

The court established that Lu spent his own money on internet access, purchasing in-game currency, and progressing through the game, and that the artifact had a market value of about 50,000 yuan (approximately 7,300 US dollars at the current exchange rate). Therefore, it has the characteristics of property and can be part of the inheritance.

At the same time, the court noted that the "in-game marriage" has no legal force. However, considering that Yang Yuan also made significant efforts to obtain the artifact, the court ruled to split its value equally: 50% to the legal wife Li Lan, and 50% to Yang Yuan.

The court allowed inheritance of Bitcoin, game accounts, and rights to social media accounts

Another case reviewed in 2024 concerned an inheritance that included:

• Bitcoin;
• a game account valued at about 200,000 yuan (nearly 30,000 US dollars);
• a social media account.

During the case, the heir's lawyer argued that virtual property has all the characteristics of ownership since it can be traded, has economic value, and can generate profit. Meanwhile, digital platforms insisted that all rights to such assets belong to them according to user agreements.

The court sided with the heirs. It recognized that Bitcoin, in-game items, commercial rights to social media accounts, domain names, and other digital assets can be part of an inheritance and transferred to heirs.

At the same time, personal correspondence, message history, and other private content cannot be inherited. Such materials must be archived by the platforms themselves.

Furthermore, the court concluded that user agreement provisions that completely prohibit the transfer of digital assets by inheritance are invalid if they contradict the law. Platforms are obliged to facilitate the transfer of digital assets to heirs, although they may require documents confirming inheritance rights and may charge a reasonable fee for processing such procedures.

Mothers were allowed to inherit accounts of their deceased sons

In another case, a mother requested access to her deceased son's accounts from a gaming company.

The court made a similar ruling: game accounts, character data, in-game items, and other digital assets are virtual property and can therefore be inherited. The company was obliged to cooperate with the heir and transfer all rights that allow inheritance.

How Chinese practice differs from other countries' approaches

These decisions significantly differ from practices in many other countries.

For example, in the United States, digital games are mostly considered licenses for use rather than user property. As a result, heirs often cannot access the digital libraries of the deceased.

The same approach is applied by the Steam service. Its user agreement prohibits account transfers to other persons. Since American courts view purchased games as licenses, Valve cannot currently be forced to transfer a user's digital library to heirs.

The issue of digital ownership is increasingly becoming the subject of legal disputes worldwide. This is due to major game publishers and tech companies gradually moving away from physical media in favor of digital services, while users and rights advocates insist on expanding the rights of digital content owners, including the possibility of inheritance.

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