Valve is unquestionably one of the most powerful forces in the gaming world, having not only been a massive influence on the FPS scene through games like Half-Life 2 and Portal, but also revolutionizing PC gaming via Steam. But while public opinion of Valve is generally more positive relative to other large gaming corporations, it hasn’t been without its issues.
Some of these issues are rearing their heads in 2026, as the past few weeks have seen the emergence of several lawsuits directed at the company. Most notable are two high-profile suits against Valve for its use of microtransactions, prevalent in the games Counter-Strike: Global Operations, Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2. There’s also been another lawsuit filed against Valve recently, though on quite different grounds. Here’s what we know about these cases so far.
Steam is Being Investigated by the FBI
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation launches an investigation into several games confirmed to contain malware on Steam.
Valve Is Being Sued by the State of New York
On February 25, 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a complaint accusing Valve of violating state gambling laws through its use of loot boxes. James alleges that these loot boxes are “quintessential gambling,” as players have to spend real money to open them, with the hope of gaining rare rewards. Naturally, Valve possesses no licenses that would allow it to run a gambling operation in New York.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
The state further argues that these dangers are compounded due to a lack of age verification, allowing underage users to engage in the loot box system. If found liable, Valve could face up to billions of dollars in fines, in addition to having to pay restitution to players.
For a while it seemed that Valve would not comment on this case, as it is generally tight-lipped about such matters. However, on March 11, the company issued a substantial response to the New York Attorney General’s Office via Steam, disputing its claims and defending its loot box systems. The statement contains a number of rebuttals to specific points raised by the New York complaint, though the following passage contains the company’s most salient point:
“…these types of boxes in our games are widely used, not just in video games but in the tangible world as well, where generations have grown up opening baseball card packs and blind boxes and bags, and then trading and selling the items they receive. On the physical side, popular products used in this way include baseball cards, Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, and Labubu.”
There Is a US Class Action Lawsuit Against Valve
On March 9, not even two weeks after New York filed its complaint, Valve was sued by law firm Hagens Berman on behalf of “consumers nationwide.” The class action lawsuit alleges that Valve’s lootbox system “was carefully engineered to extract money from consumers, including children, through deceptive, casino-style psychological tactics.” The suit makes essentially the same point as New York’s: loot boxes are functionally equivalent to slot machine-style gambling.
Hagens Berman argues that Valve has profited considerably from this loot box system, and is seeking damages in the form of restitution for players who have spent money on it. In addition, the lawsuit hopes to dismantle Valve’s loot box practices altogether and “implement meaningful age verification and consumer protections.”
The Performing Right Society Is Taking Valve to Court
The third major lawsuit against Valve to arise in recent weeks was not issued on the grounds of loot boxes and gambling, but rather music distribution rights. The plaintiff in this case is the Performing Right Society, a UK-based copyright collective, which argues that Valve failed to obtain the requisite licensure to distribute its members’ music online. This applies to soundtracks sold on Steam, but also games themselves. Titles like Forza Horizon and FIFA contain music owned by PRS members, and while they received the proper licenses, Valve itself did not. And since Valve is distributing these games, it should have done, according to PRS.
PRS claims that it has attempted to negotiate these matters “for many years without appropriate engagement from Valve,” and that, “The litigation will progress unless Valve Corporation engages positively with discussions and takes the necessary license to cover the use of PRS repertoire, both retrospectively and moving forwards.” PRS also notes that other storefronts, including the Microsoft Store, use something called a “General Entertainment Online License” for this very purpose.
The Performing Right Society has been known for its litigiousness in the past, having been involved in a number of controversial lawsuits in the UK. For instance, in 2009, the collective pursued legal action against a Scottish auto shop because its employees were listening to the radio without obtaining a license. That same year, it also attempted to sue a retail employee for singing licensed songs to herself without a live performance license, although PRS dropped the case and publicly apologized to the 56-year-old worker.
