Microsoft says you do not own your Xbox games

One sentence, and it is the whole concession. We searched the entire agreement for anything resembling Sony's warning that the word "buy" is meaningless, and there is nothing: no "does not mean", no "shall not be construed". Microsoft gets the same legal result as Sony while leaving your intuition completely undisturbed.

Among the most brazen lines in any of these agreements: an automatic update, on the console in your house, that Microsoft may send specifically to prevent you from accessing the Xbox Services. In fairness, the other two things the clause names disabling are unauthorized Xbox games or apps and unauthorized hardware, which is anti-piracy and anti-modification. The access line carries no such qualifier, which is why we point at it. This is not a side effect Microsoft is disclaiming. It is a function, described in advance.

Forfeiture is Microsoft's word, not ours. Worth reading beside section 4.a.ii, which closes your account if you fail to sign in once in a two year period. No wrongdoing required, no notice promised, and the same forfeiture may follow.

"Previously purchased" and "no obligation to provide a re-download" are in the same sentence. This is what a purchase is worth on the day the store closes.

This page is binding on you: section 14.j of the Services Agreement says your rights in Digital Goods "are limited by these Terms, copyright law, and the Usage Rules". Further down it lists what can cost you access, and the list is remarkable. Two of the entries are changing your country or region and failing to maintain a current email address. Losing your library because your email lapsed is not an accident Microsoft is warning you about. It is an outcome it has contemplated and written down.

Hand someone the physical console with the games sitting on its drive and they get nothing. The games were never in the box. They were only ever in the account, and the account is not yours to give away either.