Valve has changed the way Dota 2 works for Dutch players so they can see what's in a loot box before they buy it.

The change comes in response to demands from the Dutch Gaming Authority about the way loot boxes work in some games.

In June, Valve pulled item trading and Steam Marketplace transfers for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 in the Netherlands in response to a threat from Dutch authorities to prosecute video game companies who failed to alter their game's design after it found some loot boxes were gambling.

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Valve has stepped up its anti-cheat measures and issued almost 95,000 bans in the last week alone.

In July 2017, we reported that on 6th July Valve banned over 40K Steam accounts for cheating, making it the single largest banhammer the company had ever deployed.

Emphasis on "had", though.

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It seems the Netherlands' threat to prosecute video game companies over loot boxes has claimed its first victim: Valve.

Players of CS:GO and Dota 2 in the Netherlands were today greeted with a message from Valve saying the company had pulled item trading and Steam Marketplace transfers for both games.

Valve said the move was in response to the Dutch threat to prosecute video game companies who failed to alter their game's design by 20th June after it found some loot boxes were gambling.

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The Netherlands has determined some loot boxes are gambling - and warned video game publishers to modify their loot boxes to remove "addiction-sensitive" elements before mid-June.

The Dutch gaming authority said it had looked into loot boxes in 10 games (it sounds like they picked the 10 most popular games on Twitch), and found four contravened its Betting and Gaming Act. It said the content of these loot boxes was determined by chance and, crucially, the prizes could be traded outside of the game. Therefore, the prizes have a market value.

"Offering this type of game of chance to Dutch players without a licence is prohibited," the Dutch gaming authority concluded.

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Capcom has submitted an Amaterasu Courier for use in Dota 2 - and it looks like it will be added to the game.

Amaterasu, protagonist of Capcom's lovely Okami series, is currently up for votes on the Steam Workshop. The reception has been positive, so it looks like Valve will approve this one for inclusion in its hugely popular MOBA.

The video, below, shows off how Amaterasu looks in Dota 2.

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