Valve facing £656,000,000 lawsuit over claims Steam is ripping off players-Adam Starkey-Entertainment – Metro

The lawsuits are stacking up against Valve (Valve)

The owner of Steam has been accused of overcharging 14 million PC gamers in the UK and ‘shutting out’ competition in a new lawsuit.

Valve, the owner of Steam, is being sued for £656m over claims it is abusing its dominant market position to overcharge players.

The collective action claim has been filed with the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal by digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt.

In the lawsuit, Shotbolt accuses Valve of ‘shutting out’ competition when it comes to buying PC games and DLC, which has led to 14m people in the UK being overcharged for PC games as a result.

The claim is seeking up to £44 compensation for every UK player who has bought a PC game or add-on content from June 5, 2018.

As outlined on an accompanying website, the claim alleges Valve is breaching competition law by ‘imposing’ price parity clauses on publishers and developers which prevent them from selling games at lower prices on rival platforms.

It argues this, in turn, has restricted competition in the PC market and has allowed Valve to charge an ‘excessive commission’ of up to 30% on publishers.

‘Valve is rigging the market and taking advantage of UK gamers,’ Shotbolt said, who is hoping the claim will ‘stop this unlawful conduct and help people get back what they are owed’.

GameCentral has reached out to Valve for comment.

The lawsuit is backed by legal firm Milberg London LLP, who previously filed a claim against Sony in 2022 over similar allegations of charging too much through the PlayStation Store. In November, the lawsuit against Sony was granted approval to go to trial.

As noted in the claim against Valve, it might be a few years yet before this lawsuit is resolved in any capacity – whether through a trial or an out-of-court settlement. ‘It can take several years to resolve disputes of this scale,’ the website reads.

Valve has been accused of abusing its market power in the past. In 2021, Wolfire Games filed an antitrust lawsuit which similarly accused the company of anti-competitive practices on Steam, specifically against the 30% cut Valve takes from sales.

While the claim was initially dismissed, Wolfire Games filed another complaint in May 2022 which has since gone to court, with Valve CEO Gabe Newell even ordered to testify last year. The dispute is still ongoing.

Portal 2 is still a classic (Valve)

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