内容来源：https://www.geekwire.com/2026/valve-software-sued-by-new-york-ag-accused-of-promoting-illegal-gambling-via-video-game-loot-boxes/

内容总结：

纽约州总检察长对知名游戏公司Valve提起诉讼，指控其通过“开箱”机制诱导青少年参与赌博活动。诉状指出，Valve旗下《反恐精英2》等热门游戏利用虚拟饰品开箱系统非法获利数十亿美元，要求法院禁止该机制继续运行，并处以违法所得三倍的罚款。

Valve运营的Steam平台是全球最大数字游戏市场之一，其自研游戏《反恐精英2》《Dota 2》等均设有付费开箱功能。玩家通过充值获取随机虚拟饰品，这些装饰性物品虽不影响游戏性能，却在二级市场产生惊人交易额。据官方数据，仅《反恐精英2》的饰品市场去年估值就超过43亿美元。

纽约州总检察长詹姆斯在声明中强调：“非法赌博会引发严重成瘾问题。Valve通过让未成年人和成年人非法赌博获取虚拟奖品牟取暴利，这种行为必须停止。”此次诉讼是纽约州打击非法赌博的系列行动之一，此前已关停26家线上赌场，并对多家科技公司涉嫌危害青少年心理健康的行为展开调查。

Valve方面尚未对诉讼作出正式回应。分析人士指出，虚拟饰品交易价格主要由玩家社区形成，诉讼目标可能存在偏差。随着全球多国加强对游戏开箱机制的监管，此案可能对游戏行业盈利模式产生深远影响。

中文翻译：

纽约州总检察长提起的一项新诉讼，试图阻止维尔福软件公司在其热门电脑游戏中继续使用"开箱"机制。这家总部位于华盛顿州贝尔维尤的公司被指控通过引诱儿童和青少年为稀有《反恐精英》皮肤饰品进行赌博，获利数十亿美元。

诉讼指控维尔福旗下第一方游戏本质上是以年轻玩家为目标的非法赌博业务，要求禁止该公司未来在游戏中继续实施开箱机制，并处以"相当于其非法所得三倍"的罚款。

尽管维尔福软件公司以运营数字游戏平台Steam而闻名，但其同时拥有并运营多款热门电脑游戏，包括《反恐精英2》《刀塔2》和《军团要塞2》。这三款游戏均设有可选机制：玩家可支付真实货币兑换"战利品箱"，这种虚拟物品会随机生成可在游戏内使用的装饰性装备。

绝大多数饰品不影响游戏机制，仅用于外观展示，例如《军团要塞2》中的滑稽帽子或《反恐精英2》里霓虹涂装的"武器皮肤"。或许这令人费解，但世界上确实有人不惜代价获取造型恰如其分的丑陋虚拟步枪——正是这类群体助力维尔福首席执行官加布·纽维尔拥有了超级游艇。

尽管缺乏实际效用，开箱机制与饰品交易仍为维尔福创造了异常丰厚的利润市场。这三款游戏的虚拟物品交易额达到惊人的数字。纽约总检察长办公室援引的评估数据显示，仅《反恐精英》皮肤市场截至去年估值已超过430亿美元。

虽然维尔福确实从《反恐精英2》《军团要塞2》和《刀塔2》虚拟物品市场的异常狂热中获益——该公司不仅直接销售战利品箱，还通过内置的Steam市场运营二级交易平台——但这些饰品偶尔令人震惊的价格，本质上是玩家自发形成的经济体系。此次诉讼或许存在部分方向性偏差。

纽约州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯在官方新闻稿中写道："非法赌博具有危害性，可能导致严重的成瘾问题……维尔福通过放任儿童与成年人非法赌博以获取贵重虚拟奖品，攫取了数十亿美元利润。这些机制具有成瘾性、危害性与非法性，本办公室正通过诉讼制止维尔福的违法行为，保护纽约民众。"

GeekWire已联系维尔福公司寻求进一步回应。

此次诉讼是詹姆斯遏制纽约州赌博业务系列行动的最新举措。去年其办公室曾关停26家线上赌场，并针对Meta和TikTok等平台涉嫌"危害青少年心理健康"的问题采取法律行动。

英文来源：

A new suit filed by the New York attorney general seeks to stop Valve Software’s use of “loot box” mechanics in its popular PC games, accusing the Bellevue, Wash.-based company of making billions of dollars by luring children and teenagers into gambling on rare Counter-Strike skins.
The lawsuit alleges that Valve’s first-party games are essentially an illegal gambling operation aimed at younger players. It seeks to stop Valve from implementing loot box mechanics in its games going forward, as well as hit the company with a fine equal to “three times the amount of its gain from the illegal practices alleged herein.”
While it’s arguably best known for running the digital gaming marketplace Steam, Valve Software also owns and operates several of its own popular PC games, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2.
All three games feature an optional mechanic where players can pay real money in exchange for “loot boxes”: a virtual item that drops a randomly-generated piece of cosmetic gear that can be used in-game. Most of these items have no mechanical impact and are there strictly for looks, such as silly hats in TF2 or neon-painted “weapon skins” in CS2. This might not make sense to you, but there are people in this world who will pay any price to get an appropriately ugly virtual rifle, and these people are part of why Valve CEO Gabe Newell has a superyacht.
Despite their lack of actual effect, loot boxes and item trading are both an extraordinarily lucrative market for Valve. Virtual items for these three games have been sold for staggering amounts of real money. One estimate cited by the AG’s office indicates that the market for Counter-Strike skins alone was worth over $4.3 billion as of last year.
While Valve absolutely benefits from the strangely frenetic market for virtual items in CS2, TF2, and Dota 2 — it sells these loot boxes in the first place, and hosts the secondary market for them via the in-app Steam Marketplace — the occasionally shocking prices for these items is part of a player-created economy. The lawsuit may be partially aimed in the wrong direction.
In an official press release, New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote that “illegal gambling can be harmful and lead to serious addiction problems… Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes. These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal, and my office is suing to stop Valve’s illegal conduct and protect New Yorkers.”
GeekWire reached out to Valve for further comment.
The suit against Valve marks the latest in a series of moves by James to tamp down on gambling operations within New York state, such as shutting down 26 online casinos last year, as well as taking aim at Meta and TikTok for those platforms allegedly posing “harms to young people’s mental health.”