"The lawsuit - filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London - alleges Valve "forces" game publishers to sign up to conditions which prevents them from selling their titles earlier or for less on rival platforms. It claims that as Valve requires users to buy all additional content through Steam, if they've bought the initial game through the platform it is essentially "locking in" users to continue making purchases there."
"This, Ms Shotbolt argues, has enabled Steam to charge an "excessive commission of up to 30%", making UK consumers pay too much for purchasing PC games and add-on content. The case is what is known as a collective action claim, which means that one person goes to court on behalf of a much larger group of people. In this instance, it has been brought on behalf of up to 14 million people in the United Kingdom who bought games or additional content through Steam or other platforms since 2018."
Valve Corporation faces a £656m collective lawsuit in the UK accusing Steam of unfair pricing on its global online store. The claim alleges Valve abused market dominance by imposing restrictive terms on game publishers, preventing them from selling titles earlier or for less on rival platforms. The lawsuit contends Valve requires users to buy all additional content through Steam, effectively locking players into the platform and enabling Steam to charge an excessive commission of up to 30%. The action was brought in 2024 by digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt on behalf of up to 14 million UK Steam users, backed by Milberg London LLP. The Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed the case to proceed.
Read at www.bbc.com
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