Valve Responds to New York Loot Box Lawsuit

Recently, the state of New York filed a lawsuit against Valve , claiming that the loot box system in their games is a form of gambling. New York Attorney General Letitia James suggested that loot boxes in Steam games such as Counter-Strike 2 and DOTA 2 create a foundation for a gambling system and warned that they could lead to serious gambling problems, especially for young people.

Now, Valve has published a long statement on the official Steam website in response to the allegations.

Valve First Contacted the New York Attorney General in 2023

Valve announced that they first communicated with the New York Attorney General's Office (NYAG) in 2023 and worked to 'inform them' about the nature of their virtual items and mystery boxes. They state that they explained how such items are used not only in video games but also in the world of collectible cards. Furthermore, they mention that they cooperated in the investigation and shared their efforts to close accounts that use in-game items on gambling sites.

Valve also addressed some fundamental issues with Attorney General Letitia James's claims. In particular, they oppose the state of New York's belief that loot box contents should be non-transferable.

The statement included the following: 'We have serious concerns about many of the changes that the NYAG claims should be made in our games. First, the NYAG appears to believe that boxes and their contents should not be transferable. They assume that digital mystery boxes and items in our games are different from tangible items like baseball card packs, and they oppose the ability of users to transfer items they have acquired through Steam Trade or the Community Market. We think that the transferability of a digital game item is good for consumers; just like a Pokémon or baseball card owner can sell or trade a tangible item, it gives users the ability to sell or trade an old or unwanted item for something else. The NYAG proposes taking away users' ability to transfer their digital items in Valve games. We believe that transferability is a right that should not be taken away from us, and we refuse to do so.'

Valve Also Addressed Lawsuit Concerns Regarding Real-World Violence

Valve added that they respect the rights of New York to set the laws that govern their own state and that they will comply with any legislation that passes regarding mystery boxes. However, the New York Attorney General's complaint also includes concerns regarding the violent nature of Valve's video games.

In response, Valve states that these comments are a distraction and mischaracterization, similar to many things we have heard about the gaming world in the past.

'Furthermore, although this lawsuit is about mystery boxes, we feel the need to address the comments the NYAG makes about games, real-world violence, and children. These irrelevant comments are a distraction and mischaracterization that we have all heard before. Countless studies conducted over the years have concluded that there is no connection between media (movies, TV, books, comics, music, and games) and real-world violence. In fact, many studies highlight the beneficial effects of games on users.'

As you may recall, similar accusations were brought up in the news about the class-action lawsuit filed against Valve that we shared recently. The company continues its legal battle with both this state lawsuit and the class-action lawsuits filed by players.

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