Valve removes arbitration requirement from Steam Subscriber Agreement

In September 2024, Valve removed both the individual binding arbitration requirements and class-action waiver from the Steam Subscriber Agreement, which is, essentially, Steam's End-User License Agreement. This was done because of a pending class-action lawsuit wherein "the named Plaintiffs won binding decisions from arbitrators rendering Valve's arbitration provision unenforceable for both lack of notice and because it impermissibly seeks to bar public injunctive relief."[1]

Implications

This restores consumer rights to both court litigation and class-action lawsuits, rather than being bound to forced arbitration, for resolving disputes with Steam.

Sources/Links

• Link to the Steam news article: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/4696781406111167991. Archived from the original on 27 September, 2024. Retrieved 17 January, 2025.
• Link to the Steam Subscriber Agreement: https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement. Archived from the original on 28 September, 2024. Retrieved 17 January, 2025.
• Louis Rossmann's video on the news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f81qXxggo8
• NACA's arbitration definition: https://www.consumeradvocates.org/for-consumers/arbitration/. . Archived from the original on 1 January, 2025. Retrieved 17 January, 2025.
• [1] "Steam doesn’t want to pay arbitration fees, tells gamers to sue instead": https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/steam-doesnt-want-to-pay-arbitration-fees-tells-gamers-to-sue-instead/. Archived from the original on 17 December, 2024. Retrieved 17 January, 2025.