Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions explain the terms on which you may use the Departure Gate Studios website, Ascendle® and Ascendle Arena®.

By using a DGS website or game, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, you should not use the relevant service.

Departure Gate Studios Ltd (DGS) is the company behind Ascendle® and Ascendle Arena®. Company number: 17159156. Email: legal@departuregatestudios.com.

What these terms cover

These terms apply to the Departure Gate Studios website, Ascendle®, Ascendle Arena®, browser game access, supported app versions, accounts, cloud continuity, saved progress, gameplay records, free features, paid entitlements, support routes and related DGS services.

Additional terms may also apply to a purchase, sign-in provider, app store, advertising service or other third-party service. Where a third party is responsible for a transaction or service, its applicable terms also apply to that part of the experience.

Younger players

Ascendle® and Ascendle Arena® are general-audience word games and are not specifically directed at children. Younger players may use the games. If a user is not legally able to agree to these terms on their own, they should use the service only with the involvement or permission of a parent or guardian where required by applicable law.

How DGS handles personal data relating to younger players is explained in the Privacy Policy.

Accounts and account security

Some features may be available without conventional registration, while other features, including some account, statistics or purchase functions, may require sign-in or a registered account.

You are responsible for taking reasonable care of your sign-in credentials and for information you provide to us. You must not knowingly allow another person to misuse your account or attempt to obtain unauthorised access to another user's account.

Account continuity, restoration and paid entitlements depend on the account and purchase records associated with the service. If you choose to delete an account, some associated access or gameplay data may no longer be recoverable, subject to applicable legal and record-retention requirements.

Free access, paid entitlements and permanent ownership

Some DGS features are available without payment. Other features may require a one-off purchase that grants the product entitlement shown at checkout.

DGS paid game offers are not recurring subscriptions and do not renew automatically. Where an offer is described as permanent ownership, this means that the purchased entitlement has no scheduled expiry date and does not require a recurring payment to remain active.

Permanent ownership describes the entitlement and billing model. It does not transfer ownership of DGS intellectual property, and it is not a promise that every website, online service, third-party platform, device, operating system or technical integration will remain available indefinitely.

A paid entitlement may be removed or adjusted where the underlying transaction is refunded, reversed or successfully disputed, where the user requests account deletion, or where required by law.

Purchases, billing and refunds

The price, currency, taxes, product scope and purchase route applicable to an offer are shown through the relevant Store and checkout at the time of purchase.

For browser purchases processed by Paddle, Paddle acts as Merchant of Record and is the seller for the payment transaction. DGS supplies and supports the game entitlement. Paddle's buyer terms and refund process apply to the payment transaction in addition to these DGS terms governing use of the product.

Purchases made through Google Play or another app store are handled in accordance with the applicable store's purchase, billing and refund processes.

Further information is available on the Billing & Refunds page. Nothing in these terms limits consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

Fair use and player conduct

Ascendle® and Ascendle Arena® are built around fair play, meaningful results and player trust.

You must not attempt to cheat, manipulate or falsify game results, scores, badges, records, graphs or entitlements; use automated tools, scripts, bots or exploits to interfere with normal play; circumvent access controls or paid-entitlement checks; attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems or data; deliberately damage, overload or disrupt the service; or use the service for unlawful, abusive, fraudulent or harmful activity.

Nothing in this section prevents normal use of browser or device accessibility features, or legitimate security research carried out with DGS's prior permission.

Gameplay, availability and updates

We aim to provide a reliable and enjoyable puzzle-game experience, but internet-connected games and supporting services can experience errors, maintenance, outages, compatibility changes or interruptions.

DGS may update the games, word lists, features, interfaces, technical requirements or supporting services where reasonably necessary to maintain, secure, improve or develop the products, comply with law or platform requirements, or respond to technical or operational changes.

We do not guarantee that every feature, third-party integration, device, operating-system version, advertisement, leaderboard or online service will always be available or error-free. This does not affect rights or remedies that applicable law gives you in relation to paid digital content or services.

Suspension and protection of the service

DGS may restrict or suspend access where reasonably necessary to investigate or address suspected fraud, security threats, serious misuse, unauthorised access, material breach of these terms, legal or regulatory requirements, or conduct that risks harm to DGS, its systems or other users.

Where appropriate and legally permitted, we will take a proportionate approach to restriction or suspension. This section does not give DGS a right to remove statutory consumer rights or retain payment where a refund or other remedy is required by law.

Intellectual property and licence

The DGS websites, Ascendle®, Ascendle Arena®, game design, product names, logos, text, visuals, code, systems, graphics, badges, interface elements and other materials are owned by Departure Gate Studios Ltd or used under licence.

Ascendle® and Ascendle Arena® are registered trademarks of Departure Gate Studios Ltd. Proprietary product and feature names are trademarks of Departure Gate Studios Ltd where indicated.

Subject to these terms, DGS gives you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the relevant game and its features for normal personal use. Except where applicable law expressly permits it, you may not copy, sell, redistribute, commercially exploit or create unauthorised derivative versions of DGS software, artwork or protected content.

Third-party services and links

DGS services may interact with or link to third-party services such as sign-in providers, hosting and cloud services, payment providers, app stores, advertising providers or external websites. Those services are operated under their own terms and privacy practices.

DGS is responsible for the parts of the service that DGS controls. We are not responsible for the independent operation, availability or content of third-party services, except to the extent applicable law provides otherwise.

Consumer rights and responsibility

Nothing in these terms excludes or restricts any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted, including applicable rights relating to digital content, services and consumer contracts.

DGS does not exclude liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

DGS is not responsible for loss or disruption caused solely by matters outside its reasonable control, by a user's breach of these terms, or by an independent third-party service, except where applicable law provides otherwise.

Privacy, cookies and account deletion

Use of DGS websites and games is also covered by the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

You can request deletion of an Ascendle® / Ascendle Arena® account and associated game data through the Account & Data Deletion page. Some information may need to be retained where required for legal, accounting, fraud-prevention, dispute or security purposes.

Changes to these terms

DGS may update these terms when the products, commercial arrangements, providers, platform requirements or applicable law change. The date at the top of this page shows when the terms were last updated.

Where applicable law requires notice or another step before a change takes effect, DGS will follow that requirement. Changes to these terms do not remove rights that have already arisen under applicable law.

Governing law and contact

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere, you also retain any mandatory protections provided by the law that applies to you and that cannot be excluded by contract.

For questions about these Terms & Conditions or the DGS services, contact Departure Gate Studios Ltd at legal@departuregatestudios.com or use the Support page.