Any disputes are to go forward in court instead of arbitration,' according to Valve, which is facing a class-action suit for 'allegedly maintaining an unlawful monopoly' in PC gaming.

Legal experts consider this a win for Steam users, even if most of them will likely never take Valve to court. Consumers are usually required in such agreements to arbitrate and n

Valve used to have a forced arbitration clause in its subscriber agreement, but that's no longer the case.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

Previously, Steam’s user agreement said that “you and Valve agree to resolve all disputes and claims between us in individual binding arbitration” for all disputes related to Steam, your account, hardware, or the company’s content and services. The new agreement eliminates any mention of a binding arbitration policy.

If you booted up Steam in the last 24 hours, then you probably saw the pop up window asking you to agree to a new Steam Subscriber Agreement (SSA). Valve laid out the changes in an official blog post on the Steam Community forum,

"You and Valve agree that all disputes and claims between you and Valve (including any dispute or claim that arose before the existence of this or any prior agreement) shall be commenced and maintained exclusively in any state or federal court located in King County, Washington, having subject matter jurisdiction."