Disrupting MMORPGs gaming: Exploring and renegotiating end-user license agreements in the Metaverse

Abstract

This paper explores key legal issues surrounding gaming platforms that provide/host Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. Since we are entering the next epoch of the Internet, Web3.0 – and the emergence of Metaverses that operate within this space, this paper conducts an inquiry into the key facets of end-user license agreements (EULAs) used in the platforms that may likely need to be renegotiated. Firstly, how do we reconcile the legal regulatory status of gaming platforms in a decentralized Web3.0 Metaverse? Secondly, how can the rights of end users of gaming platforms be protected vis-à-vis the EULAs in this space? And thirdly, what specific aspects in existing EULAs are likely needed to be renegotiated in light of a decentralized Web3.0 Metaverse? This paper will utilize a case study using the EULAs of Blizzard Entertainment Inc. and provide a possible reformulation of specific terms and conditions of EULAs.