Valve Removes Arbitration Clause from Steam Subscriber Agreement

Valve has removed the arbitration clause and class action waiver from the Steam Subscriber Agreement, allowing US players to take disputes to court.

Removing the arbitration clause and class action waiver from the Steam Subscriber Agreement (SSA) will have a limited impact on players in the EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Quebec, as the arbitration clause wasn’t binding there.

However, players in the US and other regions could sue Valve over unresolved issues if they wish.

In a statement posted on the Steam blog, Valve said it had “eliminated the requirement that disputes be resolved by individual arbitration.”

It also recommended reaching out to Steam Support with any issues, as that was usually the best way to resolve problems. It commented that the updated SSA “now provides that any disputes are to go forward to court instead of arbitration.”

Though one Steam user on Reddit suggested that it’s likely cheaper and less time-consuming to litigate a class-action lawsuit than arbitrate tens or hundreds of thousands of disputes individually, it’s unclear what led Valve to this move.

Airbnb and Disney Have Relied on Arbitration Clauses to Contest Lawsuits

In recent years, we’ve seen a spate of issues around arbitration clauses from major US companies, including Disney and Airbnb, which could explain Valve’s decision.

Airbnb has been known to call on arbitration clauses in its Terms of Service when faced with lawsuits related to rental issues.

In one case, following a wrongful death lawsuit against Airbnb following the killing of a man at one of its rentals, the company pointed to an arbitration clause in the agreement the man entered into when signing up for an Airbnb account. This was even though he did not rent the property where the death occurred.

In another high-profile incident, the widow of a woman who died after a fatal allergic reaction following a meal at a Disney Park restaurant in 2023 lodged a wrongful death lawsuit.

Disney is fighting the claim, stating that the widow had agreed to an arbitration clause in Disney+ terms and conditions. The subscription was canceled after a free trial before the man was charged for the service.

Fighting the lawsuit has so far proved seriously damaging to Disney’s reputation.

Arbitration Favors Companies Familiar with the Process

Courts are divided over whether it should be lawful to use arbitration clauses as widely as some companies are clearly doing. Some say arbitration benefits both sides and that disputes and resolutions take less time and cost less money through arbitration.

However, there’s no denying that arbitration favors huge companies like Disney, which is au fait with the process and knows how to use it to their advantage. By updating its Steam Subscriber Agreement, Valve seems to be taking proactive steps to protect its reputation in the future.