This is a mess. I've rewritten this a bit of this and added sections and removed sections. The gist of what I think is just that I have a lot of mixed feelings about all of this, and it's a very VERY complex topic that I just want to be done with...

In addition to asking Valve to modify or eliminate its loot box system, the New York suit asks for Valve to make “full restitution to consumers” for the disgorgement of “all monies” received from its gambling system, and for fines of “three times the amount of its gain.” Ars Technica has reached out to Valve for comment.

Lol.

Okay, so,

12. Loot boxes, like other forms of gambling, can lead to addiction and result in real harm. But Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents, who are lured into opening loot boxes by the prospect of winning expensive virtual items that convey status in the gaming world. Research has shown that children who are introduced to gambling are at a significantly higher risk of developing gambling addictions later in life.

I read the "nature of the lawsuit" part of the lawsuit, as I think it's enough to understand the gist of what's going on. The lawsuit is like 50 pages long and I'm not a lawyer, I'm just laying in bed with my eyelids getting heavy.

Basically, 1-11, and 13 are entirely THIS IS GAMBLING with sprinkles of GAMBLING IS BAD. Like, yeah, no fucking duh. 14 states:

14. As described further below, Valve’s actions violate Article I, Section 9 of the New York Constitution, and Sections 220.05 and 220.10 of New York’s Penal Law.

Looks like article I section 9 is 'gambling is illegal in ny'. It doesn't immediately say what 220.05/10 are, but going off the really big focus on THIS IS GAMBLING AND GAMBLING IS ILLEGAL trend, I can guess what it says.

So, why the fuck is ny going after valve NOW? Why not... I dunno, a decade ago? This is so weird! And why not sue ALL the companies that have been doing it for many decades now? Niantic, Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, the hoards of gacha games and trading card games? It can't really be that the valve definition really just hit some specific conditions, like being otherwise useless skins, most crate opens are worth basically nothing, etc. can it?

And then mixed in is a pretty heavy amount of protect the children. Which... Yes, virtue signal, but yes. Valve shouldn't allow children to be gambling. But also, I think this is a case of a mean-well situation that developed in the wrong way. Valve needs to check themselves and fix this, 100%.

If you don't know, the skins thing developed over probably more than a decade. It was a way for modders and skinners to legitimately make money, rather than be barred by copyright. Valve would share in the profit, everybody would see your custom skins rather than just you, it would give everyone a sense of uniqueness, and wouldn't unbalance the game because it was just cosmetics. Then rarity and logistics, and then it spiraled out of control. It was never meant to be "hey let's give kids gambling addiction and steal their money", Valve is one of the very few companies that that ISN'T their goal, as is very evidenced by anybody who knows anything about them. They aren't EA. It's unfortunate that it ended up this way, with other companies only seeing the dollar signs, with valve landing on it where they have, with the building hate for them.

I had a bunch of other stuff written out, mostly thoughts as I went. I have many thoughts on this. I think Valve should stop lootboxes and set an example as a leader of the industry.

I'm sad to see Valve get kicked so much, and would be devastated to see Steam and Valve fall (muh library!). They generally do try to serve consumers well, it's very clear. They single handedly saved pc gaming by offering a quality service better than piracy. Always on DRM was the trade. I hope they can innovate and do better without further dark patterns. Maybe this lawsuit is just what they need to get their shit together. Maybe it'll destroy them and a bunch of actually shitty companies will continue to be the shittiest companies to ever grace the earth in Valve's place. I have a very bad feeling about this.

Valve, for all our sakes, do better, plz fix. Before this gets worse.