Terms of Use
Last updated: July 22, 2026
These Terms of Use govern access to and use of vglocations.org, its associated subdomains, and the content and services made available through them.
By accessing or using the website, you agree to these Terms of Use.
1. Website Operator
This website is operated by:
Johannes Heinrich
Postfach 0003
2705 Wiener Neustadt
Austria
Email: contact@vglocations.org
2. Purpose of the Website
VGLocations documents and organizes information about relationships between video games and real-world geography.
The website may provide:
- information about video games and locations;
- geographic coordinates and location classifications;
- metadata relating to games, franchises, countries, and places;
- research methodology and verification information;
- an interactive map;
- sample records and dataset documentation;
- downloadable or licensed data products; and
- links to external sources and media.
The website is an independent data and research project unless expressly stated otherwise.
3. No Affiliation with Game Publishers
VGLocations is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or officially connected with any video game developer, publisher, platform operator, trademark owner, or media company referenced on the website, unless expressly stated.
Game titles, franchise names, company names, logos, trademarks, screenshots, and other third-party materials remain the property of their respective owners.
References to such materials are used for identification, documentation, research, commentary, and descriptive purposes.
4. Informational Nature of the Content
Website content is provided for general informational, research, educational, and reference purposes.
Although reasonable efforts are made to research, classify, verify, and maintain the information, the website does not guarantee that any content is:
- complete;
- error-free;
- current;
- geographically exact;
- suitable for a particular purpose; or
- supported by all available sources.
Video games may depict fictionalized, stylized, historically reconstructed, approximate, composite, or otherwise modified versions of real-world locations.
Coordinates may represent an exact feature, a representative point, a centroid, or an approximate geographic anchor. They should not be treated as authoritative navigation, surveying, cadastral, emergency, legal, or safety information.
5. Dataset Methodology
Records may be created and reviewed through a combination of:
- AI-assisted research;
- human review;
- primary and secondary source analysis;
- geographic classification;
- coordinate assignment;
- source evaluation;
- consistency checks; and
- quality-assurance procedures.
The use of a structured methodology does not eliminate the possibility of errors, uncertainty, conflicting sources, or interpretive judgments.
Methodology descriptions published on the website are explanatory and may be updated as the project evolves.
6. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise indicated, the website’s original content, database structure, original text, taxonomy, selection, arrangement, presentation, branding, and design are protected by applicable intellectual-property and database laws.
No transfer of ownership or intellectual-property rights occurs merely because content is accessible through the website.
You may view and use publicly accessible website pages for ordinary personal, informational, journalistic, educational, or research purposes, subject to these Terms.
7. Dataset Licences
Downloadable datasets, country packs, franchise packs, regional packs, complete datasets, APIs, or other data products may be subject to separate licence terms.
Where a product-specific licence, licensing agreement, order page, README file, or written agreement applies, that document governs the permitted use of the relevant dataset.
In the event of a conflict between these general Terms of Use and a product-specific licence, the product-specific licence takes precedence for the applicable data product.
Purchasing or downloading a dataset does not automatically grant unrestricted ownership, resale rights, redistribution rights, sublicensing rights, or the right to operate a competing data marketplace or commercial API.
Users are responsible for reviewing the applicable licence before using a dataset.
8. Prohibited Uses
Unless expressly permitted by applicable law or a separate written licence, you may not:
- reproduce or redistribute substantial parts of the website or database;
- systematically extract website or map content;
- bypass technical access restrictions;
- use automated systems to overload or disrupt the website;
- scrape or harvest substantial portions of the database for republication;
- resell, sublicense, or republish licensed data contrary to the applicable licence;
- misrepresent website content as official publisher information;
- remove copyright, attribution, licensing, or provenance notices;
- use the website to distribute malware or conduct unlawful activity;
- interfere with the security or operation of the website; or
- falsely imply an affiliation with VGLocations.
Ordinary search-engine indexing and limited automated access consistent with published technical instructions, including robots.txt, are not prohibited.
Any permission for machine learning, artificial intelligence, commercial API use, knowledge-graph integration, redistribution, or derived data products is determined by the applicable dataset licence.
9. Interactive Map
The interactive map is provided as a research and discovery interface.
Map markers, coordinates, boundaries, and classifications may be approximate or representative. The map must not be relied upon for navigation, route planning, emergency response, property boundaries, legal determinations, or personal safety decisions.
Map availability may depend on third-party or external infrastructure, including map-tile providers.
The operator may change, restrict, suspend, or remove map functionality without prior notice.
10. External Links and Media
The website may contain links to third-party websites, videos, databases, stores, publications, and other external resources.
External links are provided for convenience, reference, attribution, or evidentiary purposes. They do not constitute endorsement of the linked content or provider.
The operator does not control and is not responsible for:
- the availability of third-party services;
- changes to linked content;
- third-party privacy practices;
- third-party security;
- third-party terms; or
- the accuracy or legality of third-party content.
You access external services at your own discretion and subject to their applicable terms.
11. Corrections and Contributions
Users may report suspected errors or provide additional sources by contacting:
Submitting information does not guarantee that it will be accepted, published, retained, or incorporated into the dataset.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, you should submit only information that you are legally permitted to share.
12. Availability and Changes
The website and its content may be changed, corrected, expanded, restricted, suspended, or discontinued at any time.
The operator does not guarantee uninterrupted access, permanent availability, compatibility with every device, or the continued availability of any specific feature or dataset.
13. Disclaimer of Warranties
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the website and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
No express or implied warranty is given regarding:
- accuracy;
- completeness;
- availability;
- merchantability;
- fitness for a particular purpose;
- non-infringement;
- technical compatibility; or
- the results obtained from using the website or its data.
Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.
14. Limitation of Liability
The operator is liable without limitation where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, including where damage is caused intentionally or through gross negligence, or where mandatory liability applies for death or personal injury.
For slight negligence, liability is limited, to the extent permitted by law, to foreseeable damage resulting from the breach of a material contractual obligation.
The operator is not responsible for losses arising solely from:
- reliance on inaccurate, incomplete, historical, or approximate geographic data;
- the use of website data for navigation, emergency, legal, surveying, or safety-critical purposes;
- third-party websites or services;
- interruptions outside the operator’s reasonable control;
- unauthorized or licence-incompatible use of datasets; or
- changes made by game developers, publishers, data providers, or external sources.
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability where exclusion is prohibited by applicable law.
15. Consumer Rights and Paid Products
Where paid digital products are offered to consumers, mandatory consumer-protection rights remain unaffected.
Product descriptions, prices, payment terms, delivery conditions, withdrawal information, and licence terms may be presented separately during checkout.
If a merchant-of-record or external checkout provider is used, additional contractual terms of that provider may apply.
The website does not currently operate an integrated checkout. These Terms will be reviewed when paid checkout functionality is introduced.
16. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by Austrian law, excluding conflict-of-law rules and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, to the extent such a choice is legally permitted.
Mandatory consumer-protection provisions applicable in the consumer’s country of habitual residence remain unaffected.
17. Jurisdiction
For disputes involving business users, the competent court at the operator’s place of residence is agreed as the place of jurisdiction, to the extent legally permitted.
For consumers, the statutory rules governing jurisdiction apply.
18. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is invalid, unenforceable, or incomplete, the remaining provisions remain unaffected.
The invalid or unenforceable provision will be replaced, to the extent legally possible, by the applicable statutory rule or by a valid provision that most closely reflects the intended purpose.
19. Changes to These Terms
These Terms may be amended to reflect changes in the website, available services, applicable licences, or legal requirements.
The current version is the version published on this page. The date of the latest revision appears at the beginning of the document.
20. Contact
Questions regarding these Terms may be sent to: