Valve eliminates Steam’s arbitration clause in new update
Valve recently updated its Steam Subscriber Agreement, particularly how it will handle “any disputes between Valve and Steam users.”
Per its blog, the new SSA eliminates the requirement for disputes to go through individual arbitration. Instead, if a problem cannot be fixed through Steam Support, it will go forward in court.
This updated agreement goes into effect once users consent to it, and some have already started getting prompts. It will become the default by November 1.
“You and Valve agree that this Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and executed in the State of Washington, U.S.A…” reads Section 10. “If the laws where you live mandate alternative dispute resolution options, you may seek a remedy under those options.”
“In the event of a dispute relating to the interpretation, the performance or the validity of the Subscriber Agreement, an amicable solution may be sought before any legal action.”
This change mainly affects US Steam users. Valve said there would be “limited impact” for those in the EU and UK, Quebec, New Zealand, and Australia, since those regions are already exempt from its arbitration rules.
Additionally, Valve will take out the class action waiver and the cost of fee-shifting provisions found in earlier versions of the SSA.
Steam platform changesChanges to its SSA and arbitration rules mark Valve’s newest update to the platform. Over the summer, it made a sweep of front and backend updates, including refinements to store page descriptions and related games on those pages.
One of the more significant changes came in July with social media linking. In light of “major” recent API updates for several social media platforms like X (née Twitter), Steam’s account linking process was simplified for developers.
The full, updated SSA can be read here.
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Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s had, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.
