Updated Steam subscriber agreement prohibits class action lawsuits

Valve has announced changers to its Steam subscriber agreement which include reimbursement for those who bring legal claims against the company - but block class action lawsuits.

"Customers may now only bring individual claims, not class action claims," Valve wrote in a Steam news update.

"In far too many cases, 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."

While acknowledging the benefits class actions sometimes bring, Valve has proposed users instead rely on arbitration or a small claims court in those cases where normal dispute resolution fails.

"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," the publisher added, rather generously.

Less controversially, the updated user agreement also places European users in the hands of Valve's new Luxembourg office, Valve S.a.r.l.

You must agree to the updated subscriber agreement in order to continue using Steam.

Thanks, Kotaku.