Valve has issued a scathing public response to New York Attorney General Letitia James's lawsuit over loot boxes in games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2. The gaming company argues that mystery boxes are no different from physical collectibles like baseball cards and Pokémon cards, and that they don't violate any New York state laws. Valve claims it has been cooperating with the investigation since early 2023.

In its statement, Valve emphasized that loot boxes are purely cosmetic and that most players never open them, comparing the system to real-world blind boxes and trading card packs. The company highlighted its efforts to combat gambling site abuse, noting it has locked over one million Steam accounts linked to unauthorized gambling activities. Valve also defended the transferability of in-game items, arguing that restricting this would be like banning trading of physical collectibles.

Valve rejected the attorney general's proposed changes as overly invasive, including demands for additional user data collection and age verification beyond standard payment methods. The company stated it would comply with any future legislation but noted that no such laws have been passed despite previous consideration. Valve also pushed back against what it called "mischaracterizations" linking video games to real-world violence, citing studies showing no connection between media and violent behavior.