Valve
Valve Corporation
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Digital distribution, software development, hardware engineering |
| Official website | https://valvesoftware.com/ |
Valve Corporation, also known as Valve Software, was founded in 1996 by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. It is the owner of the popular digital software distribution service Steam. Valve additionally develops tools frequently used by various professional and amateur creators, such as Source Filmmaker and the Source Engines.
Legal disputes[edit | edit source]
Steam's predominance has led to Valve becoming involved in various legal cases.[1]
| Dispute Title | Year started and ended
(if concluded) |
Background Information | Aftermath | Related Articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCC v. Valve Corporation[2] | 2014–2016 | During this lawsuit, Valve was found by the Australian Federal Court to have refused to offer refunds for faulty or broken products. | Users now have the ability to easily refund games they purchased, so long as they follow the refund policy. | |
| UFC Que Choisir v. Valve Corporation[3] | 2015–2019
(still disputed) |
UFC Que Choisir sued Valve on the grounds that users deserved to resell their digital licenses. | Users in France had the right to resell their digital Steam library, overturned in October 2024. | |
| McLeod v. Valve Corp.[4] | 2016 | MacLeod started the first antitrust case against Valve Corp. over the sale of their games. | Absorbed into another legal dispute; continues to be dismissed within Seattle courts. | |
| Wolfire Games v. Valve Corp.[5] | 2021–2022 | The first notable antitrust case against Valve's unfair market manipulation of their games. | Absorbed into another dispute/now a class action lawsuit.[6] | |
| Sean Colvin (and various others) v. Valve Corporation, CD Projekt S.A., CD Projekt, Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., Ubisoft, Inc., Ubisoft L.A., Inc., kChamp Games, Inc., Rust, LLC, and Devolver Digital, Inc.[7] | 2021 - Unfinised | Five individuals in California sued Valve (among various other publishers) over participating in anti-competitive behavior with the Steam platform, most notably over the sale of games for lesser prices on other platforms. | Not concluded because of indefinite postponement by Valve. | |
| Bucher Law PLCC v. Valve Corp.[8][9][10] | C.A. 2021 - Unfinished | A companion to previous lawsuits against Valve over their anti-competitive monopoly, this time covering consumers over their purchase of games on Steam. | Not concluded, slowly being arbitrated. |
Anti-Consumer Practices[edit | edit source]
Steam users do not own their games (2024)[edit | edit source]
[To be worked on] Sources: [11][12]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(service)#Legal_disputes
- ↑ "Federal Court finds Valve made misleading representations about consumer guarantees". ACCC. 29 Mar 2016. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Tough Times Ahead for Digital Video Game Resellers: French Supreme Court Ruling in UFC Que Choisir v. Valve". Fox Mandal. 4 Dec 2024. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ https://casetext.com/case/mcleod-v-valve-corp
- ↑ https://casetext.com/case/wolfire-games-llc-v-valve-corp-7
- ↑ Chalk, Andy (28 Nov 2024). "The antitrust lawsuit against Steam is now a class action, and that could have big repercussions for Valve". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Gardner, Eriq (28 Jan 2021). "Popular Gaming Platform Accused of Abusing Market Power Through Contracts". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/valve
- ↑ "Bucher Law Steam Lawsuit". LawGud. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
- ↑ https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/_files/ugd/38f6ef_69ae2fee5c5548538d526669d99be533.pdf
- ↑ Chalk, Andy (11 Oct 2024). "Steam's new disclaimer reminds everyone that you don't actually own your games, GOG moves in for the killshot: Its offline installers 'cannot be taken away from you'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Shakir, Umar (11 Oct 2024). "Steam now says the 'game' you're buying is really just a license". The Verge. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)