Valve leaks lawsuits
Just weeks after New York’s Attorney General sued Valve, claiming it had made “billions” by allowing kids and adults to gamble illegally, comes another loot box-linked suit against the video game giant in Washington.
deliberately engineered its gambling platform”
One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Steve Berman, stated in a news release: “We believe Valve deliberately engineered its gambling platform and profited enormously from it.”
At the heart of the suit is Valve’s loot box system, which the state claims both “mimics gambling” and its “aesthetics.”
Attorneys filed the lawsuit against Valve in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington on March 9 and are “seeking class-action status.”
Values questioned
The “aesthetics” part described in the suit concerns the look-and-feel of Valve’s product, in which the “process to open loot boxes is designed to resemble a slot machine, with images of possible prizes spinning across the screen before one is slowly picked.”
The Washington suit also states that Valve sells loot box keys for titles such as Counter-Strike for $2.49, but that the contents are random and many times “worth less than the charge for the key.”
Berman et al argue that the odds are often stacked against Valve’s customers, claiming approximately 96% of the items awarded in Counter-Strike loot boxes have less value than the key purchased to open the case.
drives players to keep buying keys and opening loot boxes”
“But on rare occasions, a player wins an item worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. … It is this possibility — remote but tantalizing — that drives players to keep buying keys and opening loot boxes,” the lawsuit states.
Berman added in the release: “Consumers played these games for entertainment, unaware that Valve had allegedly already stacked the odds against them.”
Money maker
The lawsuit said Valve’s loot box system violated Washington gambling law to the enormous profit of the Bellevue-based video game developer.
The state cited a tracking service report that users opened more than 400 million Counter-Strike loot boxes in 2023, with Valve generating over $1bn from the key sales.
According to the Seattle Times, the plaintiffs are seeking an undisclosed amount in restitution and damages, lawyers’ fees, and a jury trial.
