Another new lawsuit against Valve in Washington USA takes aim at lootboxes

It's the season of lawsuit it seems, as Valve Software are the target of yet another and it's another one that's targeting loot boxes in their popular games.

The maker of Steam can't catch a break recently. With the ongoing issue in the UK from Vicki Shotbolt that was recently given the go-ahead, one from New York on their lootboxes as well, the one we reported on just earlier today from the Performing Right Society (PRS) and now this too.

Filed in Washington, USA this one (full complaint link) was brought about from two individuals (Alexander Flauto and Jackson Meyer) with the legal firm Hagens Berman (press release) but it's a class action complaint done so "on behalf of all others similarly situated" and they're demanding a jury trial. The complaint is hoping to include "All persons in the United States who purchased a loot box key or paid to open a loot box in Counter-Strike (including CS:GO and CS 2), Dota 2, or Team Fortress 2, and lost money by receiving a virtual item worth less than the price paid to open the loot box".

So that is potentially a lot of people.

What exactly is the issue then? Gambling. Specifically loot boxes. As noted in the complaint:

Loot boxes use the same psychological techniques as casino games—rewards delivered on unpredictable schedules to keep players spending, visual and audio effects designed to mimic the excitement of a slot machine, “near miss” animations that create the illusion of almost winning, and around-the-clock availability. These techniques are particularly dangerous for children and adolescents, who make up a significant portion of Valve’s player base and who are especially vulnerable to developing gambling habits. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has warned that children introduced to gambling by age twelve are four times more likely to develop problem gambling later in life.

They also directly mention the New York lawsuit in the complaint, noting they're arguing basically the same thing and that it's being brought to Washington now for this lawsuit because that's where Valve is headquartered and so they say Washington's gambling law applies here directly.

From the Hagens Berman Press Release: "We believe Valve deliberately engineered its gambling platform and profited enormously from it," said Steve Berman, Hagens Berman’s founder and managing partner. "Consumers played these games for entertainment, unaware that Valve had allegedly already stacked the odds against them. We intend to hold Valve accountable and put money back in the pockets of consumers."

Valve have been contacted for a statement.

Probably related, Valve posted on X/Twitter on the official Counter-Strike 2 account on March 6th that players in Germany beginning March 16th will have an "X-Ray Scanner" item in their inventory, and you'll only be able to open containers using it. It was previously rolled out in France back in 2019 so it's not entirely new. We might end up seeing this feature rolled out to more places to prevent more lawsuits like this and the one from New York appearing.