Valve Defends Loot Boxes, Compares Them to Pokémon Card Packs

Valve has replied to the New York attorney general’s lawsuit over paid loot boxes and item trading in games like Counter-Strike 2 and DOTA 2 with a lengthy statement posted on Steam. The company defended how its loot boxes work, comparing them to physical products such as baseball card packs and Pokémon, and stressed that all items are cosmetic.

Valve added its data shows most players don’t open any boxes and instead just play the games, so it says non-paying players face no disadvantage. The NYAG’s suit accused Valve of enabling gambling through its online games and digital storefront and seeks to stop what it calls gambling features and impose fines.

Valve said it cooperated with the investigation, locked over one million Steam accounts that were misused by third parties in connection with gambling, fraud, and theft, and introduced features like trade reversal and trade cooldown to discourage gambling sites and protect users; it also forbids gambling-related businesses from sponsoring tournaments.

United States, New York

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