Valve has been hit with another lawsuit. In a new press release announcing the filing, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that Valve is participating in the illegal promotion of gambling through loot boxes in several of its games, specifically Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2. The complaint argues that these titles offer items with real-world monetary value through the Steam Marketplace. The lawsuit claims that Valve has earned “billions of dollars” through systems that incentivize players to engage with mechanics resembling gambling in order to acquire high-value items.
“In Valve’s most popular game, the process resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item. The randomly selected virtual items have no in-game functionality but can be sold online for money, with one item reportedly being sold for more than $1 million.” James said.
“Illegal gambling can be harmful and lead to serious addiction problems, especially for our young people,” James continued. “Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes. These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal, and my office is suing to stop Valve’s illegal conduct and protect New Yorkers.”
James also highlighted the danger of third-party marketplaces that help facilitate dealings around the items earned from the lootboxes. “The high value of Counter-Strike’s rare skins and the ease of liquidating items through third-party marketplaces have made Valve’s virtual items an attractive target for thieves. Valve has received hundreds of thousands of support requests from users reporting that their Steam accounts had been hacked, or that they had been tricked into transferring items to a bad actor.” For now, It’s unsure if the lawsuit has gone through and Valve’s response to it, but James claims he aims to “permanently stop Valve from promoting gambling features in its games,” and for the company to loose its “ill-got gains”.
