Valve is once again in legal trouble over its in-game loot boxes, a feature most prevalent in shooters like Counter-Strike 2, not even two weeks after facing a lawsuit from the state of New York over the same issue.It's no secret that Valve has been under fire from all angles over its loot box system and its Steam market. Last year, YouTube smacked down on videos about Counter-Strike 2 after kickstarting new restrictions against content depicting gambling – and gambling is precisely what folks are saying the loot boxes essentially are now.
On February 25, Valve was sued by New York, with a demand for "full restitution" for players. Now, consumers in the state of Washington are similarly suing the company behind Steam over its loot boxes.
Spotted by PC Gamer, the full class-action complaint claims that "Valve's loot boxes are not incidental features of its games." Instead, "they are a deliberate, carefully engineered revenue model." It outlines how the loot box system "constitutes illegal gambling under Washington law," citing the state's own definition.Gambling, according to Washington state law, is "staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the person's control or influence."
