Valve has expressed disappointment over a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James accusing the company of illegal gambling through loot boxes in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. In a statement posted on Steam, Valve defends its mystery boxes as comparable to physical items such as baseball cards and Pokémon packs. The company highlights its efforts to combat gambling and opposes proposed changes to item transferability.
The lawsuit, announced last month, claims Valve enables gambling via paid loot boxes and item trading on Steam. New York Attorney General Letitia James described these features as "illegal gambling" and seeks to halt their promotion, along with fines for violations of state law.
Valve first learned of the investigation in early 2023. In its response, the company argues that mystery boxes are "widely used, not just in video games but in the tangible world as well," citing examples like baseball card packs, blind boxes, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Labubu. It notes that digital packs similar to these date back to 2004 and are in widespread use. Valve emphasizes that players do not need to open boxes to play its games, as the items are purely cosmetic with no gameplay disadvantage. According to Valve, most players do not open any boxes and simply play the games.
Addressing gambling concerns, Valve states it does not cooperate with gambling sites. It has locked over 1 million Steam accounts misused for gambling, fraud, and theft. The company has implemented features like trade reversal and trade cooldown to protect users and discourage such activities. Valve also forbids gambling-related businesses from participating in or sponsoring its game tournaments.
Valve raises concerns about the attorney general's proposed changes, including making loot box items non-transferable. It argues that transferability benefits consumers, similar to trading physical items like Pokémon or baseball cards, and refuses to remove this feature. The company opposes additional data collection for VPN detection or enhanced age verification, calling it invasive and unnecessary given existing payment method safeguards.
Valve will comply if New York passes laws on mystery boxes through a public process. It believes a court will ultimately decide the matter and notes the potential impact on users. Separately, Valve rebuts the attorney general's press release claims linking games that "glorify violence and guns" to the U.S. gun violence epidemic, stating numerous studies find no link between media and real-world violence, and highlight games' beneficial impacts.
Valve's full statement is available on Steam.
