Valve is once again facing a class action lawsuit over loot boxes.
As reported by Insider Gaming, the law firm Hagens Berman has brought a class action lawsuit against Valve in their hometown of Washington state.
In Hagens Berman’s words:
The suit alleges Valve knowingly designed its loot box system using the same psychological triggers that casino game manufacturers have refined over decades to keep people spending money, including unpredictable reward schedules, sensory design, near-miss illusions, chasing losses and around-the-clock availability.
They were just sued by New York attorney general Leititia James two weeks ago. Now, one may rightly question why Valve is facing these lawsuits again.
It seemed like loot boxes were already figuratively and literally litigated a decade ago, around the world. But the US may have a specific precedent.
Last year, the FTC forced Cognosphere to follow COPPA and add age regulation to Genshin Impact. One of their COPPA violations was using banner events to sell loot boxes to children.
More than the COPPA provisions that apply to loot boxes, the FTC’s win over the issue may be motivating these new suits against Valve.
