Estate planning as a Battle.net account holder

Battle.net is Blizzard Entertainment's account system and game launcher. A single Battle.net account holds the game licenses for titles such as World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft, and Hearthstone, plus linked Activision titles like Call of Duty. The estate-relevant assets are the game licenses, any stored Battle.net Balance (prepaid funds), and in-game progress and currency. Under Blizzard's End User License Agreement these are licensed, not owned, and the account itself is non-transferable.

When a Battle.net account holder dies, their game library are forfeited. The program's terms state that game library do not constitute property of the account holder and cannot be transferred upon death, by operation of law, or through estate planning documents.

What happens at death

Under the Blizzard End User License Agreement (last updated March 21, 2024), you receive only a "limited, revocable, non-sub licensable, and non-exclusive license to use the Platform," and Blizzard is the owner or licensee of all right, title, and interest in the Platform. Accounts and the game licenses attached to them are not property that passes to an estate. Section 1.B.i.vii states: "Blizzard does not recognize the transfer of Accounts. You may not purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, or offer to purchase, sell, gift, or trade any Account, and any such attempt shall be null and void and may result in the forfeiture of the Account." There is no beneficiary designation. Section 1.D.i.ii states that Battle.net Balance (prepaid funds stored on the account) "is non-transferable to another person or Account, does not accrue interest, is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and, unless otherwise required by law or permitted by this Agreement, is not redeemable or refundable for any sum of money," so there is no published route to cash a balance out to an estate. The EULA is silent on death, estate, and inheritance. Blizzard does publish one discretionary path: in rare cases it may help a relative claim a deceased account holder's account, requiring supporting documentation such as a death certificate. That is handled case by case through a Blizzard Support ticket and is not a contractual right of inheritance. Microsoft's ownership of Activision Blizzard did not change this: the EULA still names Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. as the licensor, Battle.net remains a separate account system from the Microsoft account, and the Blizzard Support ticket is still the path.

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