The online game operator has announced the shutdown of the server, and game users believe that unilaterally stopping the operation of the service is a breach of contract, and are suing for a refund of the recharge amount. Recently, the People's Court of Jiangbei District, Chongqing tried a dispute case involving a virtual currency network service contract for online games. It found that the defendant, a technology company in Harbin, unilaterally stopped online game services, which did not violate the contract agreement, but damaged the rights and interests of game users. The court ruled that the defendant, Yang, had a refund of over 94000 yuan. A technology company in Harbin is the operating entity of a certain online game, responsible for game operation, responsible for hardware equipment and broadband resources required for game platform registration, login, recharge and billing, game forum management, and other systems, and setting up corresponding servers. Yang registered his online game account in November 2020 and subsequently recharged more than 200 times, redeeming 31.34 million game coins. In August 2021, the company announced on the game platform that it would close the recharge service at 0:00 on September 30, 2021, and stop all operational services at 0:00 on October 30, 2021, including server shutdown, account role data deletion, user registration shutdown, etc. Yang believes that after announcing the cessation of game operation services, the company did not provide compensation plans or refund corresponding recharge amounts for virtual currencies and game services that have not yet taken effect in the game. After multiple negotiations, the two parties were unsuccessful. Yang believes that the company's actions have constituted a serious breach of contract, so he filed a lawsuit with the court requesting the company to return the recharge amount of 313400 yuan. A technology company in Harbin argues that Yang's actual recharge amount is around 170000 yuan, and the aforementioned amount has been fully used to purchase skin equipment. The aforementioned skin equipment has played a corresponding role in the game, and Yang has enjoyed the fun of the game. The contract purpose has been achieved, and the company has fulfilled its contractual obligations. Therefore, Yang has no right to demand the return of the virtual currency and its corresponding amount that has been consumed. After the court heard the case, it was held that there is a contractual relationship between online game operators and game players, and the game operators should fulfill their obligations to provide game services, while also enjoying the right to terminate the service contract in accordance with the law. A technology company in Harbin shut down its servers based on game operations, which is a normal business behavior and in line with game industry practices. At the same time, the company has informed game players 60 days prior to the cessation of the game's recharge service and the official cessation of all operational services, which meets the requirements of the relevant reasonable period in the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Virtual Currency in Online Games" issued by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Commerce. Therefore, the shutdown of servers by a technology company in Harbin does not violate legal regulations, complies with industry norms, has fulfilled its duty of prudence, and there is no breach of contract. The game treasure obtained by Yang Moumou through recharging during the game should be protected according to law as network virtual property because of its value and relative Scarcity, and the user can control it under certain conditions. According to the requirements of the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Online Game Virtual Currency, when the online game operator terminates the service, for the virtual currency that the user has purchased but has not yet used, the online game operator must use Fiat money or accept it by the user
Edit：Wang Chen Responsible editor：Jia Jia
Source：rmfyb.chinacourt.org
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