In general, they hold that criminalising loot boxes as a form of gambling “will have an impermissible chilling effect on protected videogame design”, creating a risk of liability for people who stream about lootboxes together with people who sell analogous products, like the aforesaid packets of baseball cards.
I’m failing to see the problem here. Baseball cards, randomized “blind boxes” and packs are all gambling aimed at kids. If we “chill” that sort of speech (and commercial speech has long received less protection) that’s a good thing.
I didn’t understand it when this lawsuit first popped up either.
But the fact is, Valve run a loot box mechanic and a storefront where the items in loot boxes can be traded and purchased with store front currency. That might not be problematic except that you can use that shop currency to buy actual real world products like the steam deck and controller. So there’s an avenue to monetary gain here that is first party and that’s the problem.
I like Valve generally as a company but this does in fact appear to be illegal.
I’m failing to see the problem here. Baseball cards, randomized “blind boxes” and packs are all gambling aimed at kids. If we “chill” that sort of speech (and commercial speech has long received less protection) that’s a good thing.
But but but… Money!
I didn’t understand it when this lawsuit first popped up either.
But the fact is, Valve run a loot box mechanic and a storefront where the items in loot boxes can be traded and purchased with store front currency. That might not be problematic except that you can use that shop currency to buy actual real world products like the steam deck and controller. So there’s an avenue to monetary gain here that is first party and that’s the problem.
I like Valve generally as a company but this does in fact appear to be illegal.