New York Attorney General files lawsuit against Valve over loot boxes in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and more

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Valve, accusing the company of promoting gambling among minors. According to the filing, Valve's practices violate state law, and if the court rules in James' favor, the company would be required to halt those practices and pay reparations.

The suit targets several major Valve titles, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2. The language in the filing is blunt:

"Illegal gambling can be harmful and lead to serious addiction problems, especially for our young people."

The filing also notes that "the value of Counter-Strike's skins rose significantly in recent years, attracting speculators and investors who viewed these virtual items as potentially lucrative digital assets." That's no exaggeration – individual skins on the Counter-Strike 2 marketplace have fetched up to $1,000,000, and the virtual item markets have seen real crashes driven by speculation.

The suit goes into detail about the potential harm to children specifically.

"Valve's loot box model can be especially harmful to children. Attorney General James asserts that young users with limited funds can be enticed to start gambling through loot boxes in the hopes of obtaining a virtual item that they believe will enhance their status in the games' virtual worlds.

Research has shown that children who are introduced to gambling are four times more likely to develop a gambling problem later in life than those who are not. In addition, although this case is about illegal gambling, it is important to note that Valve's promotion of games that glorify violence and guns helps fuel the dangerous epidemic of gun violence, particularly among young gamers who can become numbed to grave violence before their brains are fully developed."

Beyond addiction, the official filing takes a separate aim at the role of status and conspicuous consumption within the games themselves.

"While users are provided with a default set of guns and knives at the outset of CounterStrike [sic], they can apply skins to their weapons as symbols of status and affluence."

James contends that Valve has made billions through practices that, per the allegations, violate New York law. The lawsuit fits into a broader wave of legal action around child protection in gaming – Roblox is facing similar scrutiny, despite the platform logging more play hours than Steam, PlayStation, and Fortnite combined.

Loot boxes have been a contested issue in gaming for years, but a lawsuit of this scale targeting one of the industry's largest publishers is a different kind of moment entirely.