Beijing Court Rules Video Game Accounts Can Be Inherited as Digital Assets

A Beijing district court has ruled that the right to use a deceased person's video game accounts can be inherited, marking a significant legal precedent for digital assets in China. The Beijing Shijingshan District People's Court decided in favor of a mother, surnamed Chen, who sought access to her late son's 87 accounts with game developer Changyou. The case was reported by the People's Court Daily and selected as an example case to guide judges in similar future disputes.

The plaintiff's son, surnamed Gu, died in 2025 at age 36 from oral cancer. Over more than a decade, he had invested time, effort, and money building up accounts containing valuable in-game assets. After his death, Chen requested the company transfer the accounts to her name so she could sell them to cover living expenses, as she had a low income and no other family support.

Changyou refused the request, citing its user agreement which states the company retains ownership of all account-related data, characters, virtual items, and currency. Chen subsequently sued the company for the right to inherit the accounts.

In its April ruling, the court acknowledged that legal ownership of the accounts rests with the gaming company. However, it determined that the accounts possessed independent economic value derived from the user's long-term investment. The court concluded that while ownership cannot be transferred, the right of use — and the economic interests attached to it — constitutes inheritable property under China's Civil Code.

The court ordered Changyou to complete the transfer of the accounts' real-name registration to Chen within 15 days of the ruling taking effect. Chen is the sole legal heir, as Gu's daughter waived her inheritance rights.

Presiding judge Zhang Yingzhou stated that platform user agreements cannot override a user's legal inheritance rights. He clarified that heirs inherit the economic interests attached to the right to use an account, not ownership of the account itself.

The decision comes as China grapples with the growing volume of digital assets left by deceased users. Internet penetration reached 80.1% by the end of 2025, and the Supreme People's Court created a separate case category for disputes involving data and online virtual property in 2025.

Recent incidents have highlighted the urgency of the issue. In 2025, a user who acquired a recycled phone number was inadvertently logged into the verified account of the late singer Coco Lee on the music platform NetEase, sparking widespread discussion about digital privacy and post-mortem asset management.