Out of *all* the scummy AAA game companies out there, and she decides to attack one of the most well-loved ones that don't treat their customers like metaphorical cattle to be milked?

Just goes to show how utterly out of touch the majority of Democrat politicians are...

February 26, 2026 - 14:39 UTC

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The way Valve has gamified gambling is still a big problem even if most other companies are doing the same in harsher ways. Valve is also the company that did it first, setting the blueprint for the others.
I like Steam as much as the next guy, but they do have this coming.
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EA is *much* more guilty of it. Hell, they were forced to tone down that shit with their Battlefront 2 because they went batshit crazy with lootboxes.
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If this isn't about "who has it coming" but real harm mitigation, then Roblox is a much more important target.
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Actually, if you do some research, you'll find the first game to include lootbox-style mechanics was MapleStory in 2004.

The first *American* game to have them was EA's FIFA '09 (2008), with the "FIFA Ultimate Team" mechanic.

TF2 didn't add them until *2010*.
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It ain't just democrats, trust me buddy. We really need to make it so people above 55 can't work anything political.
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Republicans being out of touch is always implied
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the reason they're going after valve is because you can cash out the lootbox results for real money, making them a literal slot machine with extra steps. if every result is monetarily worthless because it can't be cashed out, there's no legal case under gambling laws most places
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Well, I'm pretty sure you can't cash out? All you essentially get is "money" on your steam account. You can't withdraw it, or use it for anything other than steam. In all senses of the word it's just a form of discount or points system that isn't trying to hide behind fancy terms or shiny looks.
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the unfortunate thing here is that this is something worth criticizing about valve. They're not as directly predatory as other companies like actiblizz but they have essentially fostered an environment for underage unregulated gambling.
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What percent of all sales on steam goes to valve?
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After developer and publisher share, transaction fees, taxes, and refunds, 100%.
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Look dude I love Valve and think the "video games cause violence" like is idiotic and plainly false... But Valve does have a demonstrable gambling enablement problem.
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I mean, with Valve it's very much still a problem. It's just that gamers don't see it because of how much they completely worship Valve as if they're this flawless, perfect company... While spouting that you shouldn't worship companies
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Valve is very much the reason lootboxes in their current form exist today!!! They are still complicit!!!! Gabe Newell is still complicit!!!
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