You have upset His Holiness: Valve responded to New York's accusations

You Have Disappointed the Holiest: Valve Responds to New York's Accusations

Valve has replied to the suit brought by New York State AG Letitia James, who argues that certain loot-box features in Valve games amount to illegal gambling. The company rejects that interpretation and says it will contest the claims in court.

In a statement the developer called it unfortunate the dispute reached litigation; Valve says it had been in talks with the attorney general's office since early 2023. The complaint targets the "mystery box" systems in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2.

The prosecution’s case, briefly put, rests on the idea that users pay for a key without knowing the contents, usually receive items worth less than the cost, and keep opening boxes in hopes of landing a rare, high-value drop — i.e., behavior the AG equates with gambling.

Valve pushes back by pointing to everyday parallels. It cites physical collectible-card games (e.g., Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering) and toy "blind boxes" like Labubu, where people buy sealed packs, later trade or sell what they pull, and so on. The company’s view: the basic pattern isn’t unique to a digital platform.

The developer also stresses that case items are cosmetic only and do not change gameplay. Many players, Valve notes, never buy or open these boxes and simply play the games as-is.

On the proposed limits to transferring digital items, Valve objected. It frames the ability to trade and sell items as a user right — comparable to a person owning a physical card and choosing to sell or swap it.

Valve additionally says it has taken steps against misuse: more than a million Steam accounts tied to fraud, item theft, or gambling-related services have been blocked since the system’s introduction. The company reports it doesn’t work with third-party betting sites and has added measures such as trade rollbacks and enforced delays between trades.

Finally, Valve says it will follow any state laws that are properly passed, but argues the AG’s current demands exceed existing statutes, would reach users outside New York, and—Valve claims—could have negative effects on players and the wider industry.