All articles tagged with #valve
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Valve, arguing its randomized loot boxes in games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 amount to unregulated gambling, since players can resell valuable virtual items via the Steam Marketplace or third‑party sites; the suit also targets Valve’s cash‑out practices and seeks restitution, penalties, and changes to the loot‑box system.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Valve, accusing its loot-box systems in Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2 of illegally promoting gambling; the state seeks to permanently stop gambling features, disgorge ill-gotten gains, and impose fines. The lawsuit notes players pay about $2.49 per loot-box key, often receiving items worth less than the key, with rarer items worth thousands, and argues the mechanic resembles a slot machine — a concern given its appeal to minors. Valve has not immediately commented.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Valve Corp., alleging its loot-box system in popular games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2 promotes illegal gambling by charging players to open containers for randomly awarded cosmetic items that can be sold for cash, with some items fetching millions. The lawsuit seeks to stop the gambling features, disgorgement of ill‑gotten gains, and fines, citing addiction risks for youths and the ease of cashing out via Valve’s Steam marketplace and third-party sites.
A Valve open-source developer fixed Linux boot/display issues on aging AMD GPUs (Sea Islands/GCN 1.1) by disabling memory clock dynamic power management and forcing the highest memory clock when DPM is off, a move that could help iMacs with Radeon R9 M380 and similar GPUs work better under the AMDGPU driver; upstream review is expected soon.
With shortages delaying Valve's Steam Machine and Steam Frame into 2026, this article argues Valve should release the Steam Controller early. The controller is already ready and compatible with thousands of games, offering a tangible taste of Valve's hardware and potentially maintaining interest while other devices face supply delays; however, bundling and tariff considerations could complicate a standalone controller launch.
Microsoft has raised the price of the ROG Xbox Ally X in Japan from 139,800 to 169,800 yen due to RAM shortages driven by AI demand, while the lower‑end model stays the same. With RAM costs rising, more price hikes are likely across the industry, potentially impacting Valve’s Steam Machine which has already faced delayed pricing and launch details as it competes in the handheld PC space.
Valve Corp. won its lawsuit against inventor Rothschild and affiliates in a Washington court, with a jury finding in Valve’s favor on all counts under the state's Patent Troll Prevention Act and Consumer Protection Act, plus breach of contract tied to a 2022 licensing dispute. The judge had previously ruled Rothschild breached the licensing agreement by suing Valve, and the jury issued an advisory verdict finding a claim in patent 8,856,221 invalid, with the court scheduling remaining disputes on Valve’s invalidity and unenforceability challenges.
Valve says AI-driven data-center expansion is straining RAM and storage, leading to Steam Deck stockouts (OLED may be intermittently unavailable in some regions; the LCD 256GB model has been discontinued) and signaling broader memory-supply pressures affecting the gaming hardware ecosystem, with reports that other major platforms (PS6, Switch 2) are weighing timing or pricing as memory costs rise.
Valve says the Steam Deck OLED may be intermittently unavailable in some regions due to a RAM shortage, with US and Japan stockouts cited. After earlier delays tied to memory and storage constraints, Valve still plans to ship the Steam Machine, Steam Frame VR headset, and Steam Controller in early 2026 but remains cautious about component availability and pricing. The RAM crisis is affecting the wider tech industry, fueling talk of potential PS6 delays into 2028–2029 and price pressures for Nintendo.
Valve says the Steam Deck OLED may be intermittently out of stock in some regions due to memory and storage shortages, tying its supply issue to a broader RAM/storage crunch that has delayed other hardware; Valve has discontinued the 256GB LCD Steam Deck and aims to launch new hardware in the first half of 2026.
Valve says it must revisit the exact shipping schedule and pricing for Steam Frame (and Steam Machine) due to ongoing memory and storage shortages, but still aims to ship in the first half of 2026 and hopes to price Steam Frame below the $1000 Index full-kit, with concrete prices and dates to be announced as circumstances allow.
Rising RAM and storage costs are forcing Valve to revisit Steam Machine pricing, with estimates ranging from about $599–$629 for the base 512GB model to roughly $849–$899 for a 2TB version; some analysts warn that $700 could be a death sentence while others forecast prices near $1,000 or more for high-end configurations. Valve’s lack of large-scale supplier leverage compounds the challenge, though a smaller package and direct-to-consumer sales could trim costs. The ultimate price will shape the device's appeal in a niche market against PlayStation and Xbox, and could limit overall sales if set too high.
Valve’s revived Steam Machine remains on track for an early-2026 launch, according to AMD, despite ongoing RAM/SSD shortages tied to AI demand; the system blends PC hardware with lounge-friendly features and Steam Deck-inspired compatibility.
Valve says memory and storage shortages are forcing a review of the launch timetable and pricing for the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and updated Steam Controller. While release dates aren’t officially changed, a concrete price point may be higher than the initial $700–$800 estimates due to RAM/SSD costs amid AI-driven demand. The hardware is still pitched to support 4K60 FPS with FSR, and CAD faceplate specs plus upgradeable SSD/memory are planned to enable third-party accessories.
AMD CEO Lisa Su said on an earnings call that Valve's AMD-powered Steam Machine is on track to ship in early 2026, marking Valve's second hardware push after a prior Steam Machine attempt. The remarks also reference Valve's current hardware ecosystem (including a Steam Controller and Steam Frame VR headset), and Su added AMD stands ready to support Microsoft's next-generation Xbox in 2027, though no formal announcements have been made.