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Valve has updated the Steam subscriber agreement with measures to stop customers from filing class-action lawsuits against the company.
Joining the likes of Sony and Electronic Arts, who have similar stipulations in their EULAs, a Valve statement said “in some situations, class actions have real benefits to customers. In far too many cases however, class actions don’t provide any real benefit to users and instead impose unnecessary expense and delay, and are often designed to benefit the class action lawyers who craft and litigate these claims. Class actions like these do not benefit us or our communities.”
“We think this new dispute resolution process is faster and better for you and Valve while avoiding unnecessary costs, and that it will therefore benefit the community as a whole.”
Valve is also proposing a stop to individual lawsuits against the company, instead suggesting that all disputes go through a small claims court, with its statement outlining a “process whereby we agree to use arbitration or small claims court to resolve the dispute.”
As Kotaku points out, such hearings are designed to be private and kept outside of the public eye.
“In the arbitration process, Valve will reimburse your costs of the arbitration for claims under a certain amount. Reimbursement by Valve is provided regardless of the arbitrator’s decision, provided that the arbitrator does not determine the claim to be frivolous or the costs unreasonable.”
Valve’s new subscriber agreement must be agreed to by the user before the digital distribution service continues.
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