Highlights
- Two new legal proceedings have added to the growing legal scrutiny of Valve’s business practices.
- Valve faces a class action lawsuit by Hagens Berman over alleged gambling-like loot box systems on Steam.
- The other lawsuit by PRS claims that Valve distributed games with PRS members’ music without proper licensing agreements.
Valve Corporation is facing two new legal proceedings that add to the increasing legal scrutiny on the Steam platform operator. One of these is a class action lawsuit, targeting the company’s use of loot boxes again, which law firm Hagens Berman filed on March 9, 2026.
This lawsuit follows the New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against Valve on Feb 25, for the same alleged illegal practices. The other, filed by the U.K.’s Performing Right Society (PRS), has separately accused Valve of distributing music on Steam without proper licensing.
Hagens Berman Targets Valve’s Loot Box Economy
The lawsuit from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP focuses on Valve’s role in operating and profiting from loot box mechanics tied to the Steam marketplace and associated trading systems. It alleges that Valve unlawfully profited from the sale of loot boxes tied to its games, including popular titles such as Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
The loot-box system allows players to purchase randomized digital items and then trade or sell them through Steam’s marketplace, effectively creating a gambling-like ecosystem with monetary value. The filing argues that “Valve deliberately engineered its gambling platform and profited enormously from it.”
According to Hagens Berman’s founder and managing partner Steve Berman, the firm intends to “hold Valve accountable,” while making the publisher return the money to gamers across the U.S. Reporting from Forbes highlighted the alternative ‘X Ray case opening system’ for loot boxes, which will be implemented in Germany.
Increasing Scrutiny Over Valve’s Business Practices
As mentioned, the separate lawsuit by PRS adds another layer of legal pressure on Valve. Recently, Valve has been facing scrutiny over pricing, loot boxes, and alleged anti-LGBTQ+ practices. This one targets the corporate operations of Valve, alleging that the company distributed PRS members’ music without proper authorization.
PRS represents more than 175K songwriters, composers, and music publishers and manages licensing and royalty when their works are used commercially. In its complaint, the organization claims Valve “never obtained a licence for its use of the rights managed by PRS.”
According to PRS, alleged gaming titles include "high profile series" such as GTA, Forza Horizon, and EA FC. The company has reportedly tried to negotiate with Valve about licensing. However the publisher kept following the unlawful practice for years without any “appropriate engagement.”
The dual legal actions illustrate that despite Valve’s dominant position in the PC gaming ecosystem, the company is increasingly drawing regulatory and legal attention. With regulators examining the game marketplaces, these lawsuits may accelerate industry-wide discussions around consumer protections, intellectual property rights, and transparency in online gaming platforms.
