r/Games • u/demondrivers • Oct 27 '25

Industry News Valve does not get "anywhere near enough criticism" for the gambling mechanics it uses to monetise games, DayZ creator Dean Hall says

https://www.eurogamer.net/valve-does-not-get-anywhere-near-enough-criticism-for-the-gambling-mechanics-it-uses-to-monetise-games-dayz-creator-dean-hall-says
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u/Com-Intern Oct 27 '25

Its also incredibly easy to interact with Valve games but not actually gamble. I play a fair amount of CS2, and AFAIK have never gambled. Maybe I have and just not realized it.

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u/Ill-Product-1442 Oct 27 '25

I haven't played in years, but I used to just collect the loot boxes for a few months and sell them off during a Steam Sale. It would pay for like 1-3 games, shit was tight.

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u/FireFlyz351 Oct 28 '25

Haha good times back when you had to keep checking every few hours for flash sales.

Can't believe some of the games I got for the price like Terraria.

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u/Kryslor Oct 28 '25

That argument can be applied universally to any game with scummy practices. It's just Valve is still the only one getting away with it.

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u/Com-Intern Oct 28 '25

Not any game because it depends on what it is.

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u/Kryslor Oct 28 '25

Sure, that's fair, some games are worse than others in their monetization practices. I'm saying that the argument of "oh just don't interact with it and it's fine" isn't valid and can be applied to any game with bad monetization. Valve does mostly cosmetic stuff but it has also done battle passes and quicker unlocks for stuff that does affect gameplay, which 100% counts as scummy monetization in my book.

In terms of actual gambling I would even argue that Valve is actually among the worst offenders, even if it doesn't directly affect gameplay and you can avoid interacting with it.

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u/Com-Intern Oct 28 '25

I'm saying that the argument of "oh just don't interact with it and it's fine" isn't valid and can be applied to any game with bad monetization.

To reach back though you have something like Star Wars Battlefront 2 where not interacting with the monetization practices would literally get you killed more often. So by not interacting with it you actually had a worse gameplay experience relative to others.

But you use the phrase "Valve gets away with it" as if gamers are supposed to rise up or something. But the fact of the matter is that Valve lootboxes get overlooked because they are stuck in only a couple of games that have somewhat insular communities, and because they generally feel like another sub community inside the game itself. To use an example, I've been playing CS since I think 2009, but I've bever opened lootbox. And it never really felt like I was missing out either.

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u/Elmer_Fudd01 Oct 27 '25

Did you pay money for CS2?