If this is considered gambling, then it logically follows that sports card, and CCG packs for things like Pokemon and Magic must be gambling too.
Absolutely. All of this is predatory
I want all of them to be punished. Every loot box mechanic game on mobile too. Every EA/Activision/Ubisoft game.
Any game where you can buy a mystery box (or in TF2 terms, a key to open crates) directly with cash is part of the problem.
If this succeeds, loot boxes would vanish almost overnights, right? Bring it on.
I mean, tbh Valve is the only company even doing them now
gestures furiously at the mountain of gacha games built around this exact mechanic on mobile
Yeah those won’t be affected by this in the slightest, the lawsuit here is reliant upon these lootbox items having real money value from people trading skins and hats for Valve’s games. Gacha games are irrelevant here.
Ubisoft is doing it too, Ghost Recon Wildlands still offers them.
“In brief, the plaintiffs argue that lootbox mechanics in the Valve games above are gambling because you’re spending real money by means of a manipulative, casino-style interface (think, spinny wheels) for a chance of unlocking something that has ‘real’ value. In this case, not just because the digital item has subjective importance to the owner, but because you can flog it for actual cash either over Steam Community Market, or on third-party marketplaces using a “trade URL”.”
I mean, yeah. Lootboxes are gambling. The fact that it’s taken this long and is primarily aimed at valve, rather than literally any other game publisher, has me suspicious, especially considering all the recent online ID bullshit, but it really should be more regulated. Bare minimum it should be required to follow some sort of fairness and transparency laws.
I believe this is a targeted attack on steam, too many law suits so close together and none of their “competition” are facing anything even though they do the same things, just a lot worse
Apparently valve gets sued a lot, most of it just doesn’t hit the news. One of the perks of being so successful!
Sometimes, refunds, it is a beneficial thing to sue them (I know there are a few more things they got sued for that made steam better for us)
Well yeah, not everyone is operating in bad faith and hoping for a payout. This one is probably okay even, though I don’t see them getting as much as they’re asking
Removed by mod
I’m willing to bet a decent chunk of this is getting spurred on by Microsoft and Sony in the background to take down Valve before they can help get Linux in a position where it can overthrow both Windows and Playstation for gaming.
Epic’s probably playing a part too, since Time Swiney is a petty bitch
It’s likely the reseller marketplace aspect that made them select valve, because it’s only gambling in the jurisdiction they are pursuing the case if the gambling rewards have real-world value.
So the fact you can buy and sell the loot you win from gambling in the official steam marketplace with a $$ amount explicitly associated is somewhat good proof that not only is there a real value, but Valve themselves have already admitted there’s a real value.
But yeah. I don’t personally have any dislike for steam in particular, but I’d love to see loot boxes disappear.
Honestly, I’d love to see absolutely everything that encourages compulsive and addictive spending in games made illegal. No random loot boxes, and no “pay to win” either (even if it’s guaranteed what items you get)
The only things game publishers should be allowed to charge for in my opinion are cosmetics that have no function, and content updates and expansions.
By whom though? The competition does this shit too
So why only steam?
They’re the largest entity that has affected the most people?
