"Valve's policies on Steam violate UK laws on "anti-competitive prices" and "unfair trading conditions that prevent or hinder others from competing with them." The argument concerns Valve's demand that games sold on Steam not be made available at a permanently lower price on rival stores, and that once you buy a game on Steam, the only way you can buy further content for that game-be it DLC, expansion packs or cosmetics-is also via Steam."
"This, Shotbolt claims, allows Valve to "hold a dominant position in the PC gaming market" and "that it may have used this position in ways that violate UK competition law." Class action lawsuits are not a commonplace event in the UK, where the mass litigation is known as a "collective action claim," and works on an "opt-out" basis. Basically, Shotbolt and her law firm are going to sue Valve on behalf of British Steam users unless they specifically say they don't want in."
A claim filed in 2024 by lawyer Vicki Shotbolt alleges Valve enforces Steam policies that breach UK competition rules by imposing price parity and exclusive in-store purchases for DLC and other content. The claim asserts those policies prevent rivals from offering permanently lower prices and require additional game purchases through Steam, enabling Valve to hold a dominant position in the PC gaming market and potentially misuse that position. The action seeks to proceed as an opt-out collective action representing 14 million UK Steam users. Valve sought dismissal, arguing methodological and class-definition flaws, but a tribunal ruled the case may continue.
Read at Kotaku
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]