Valve Addresses New York Lawsuit, Compares Loot Boxes to Pokémon Card Packs

Last month, Valve found itself facing a lawsuit from the New York attorney general’s office regarding its ongoing use of paid loot boxes and item trading in titles like Counter-Strike 2 and DOTA 2. In response, the company known for Steam and Half-Life issued a detailed statement on its support site, defending its loot box mechanics and drawing parallels to real-world collectibles such as baseball and Pokémon cards.

Valve emphasized, “These types of loot boxes in our games are widely utilized, not only in the gaming industry but also in the physical world, where generations have enjoyed opening packs of baseball cards and blind boxes, trading, and selling the items they acquire. On the tangible side, popular products that operate similarly include baseball cards, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Labubu,” addressing gamers in New York directly.

Developing story…