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Vicki Shotbolt's lawsuit against Valve claims its Steam business practices are anti-competitive.
Valve — the creator of Steam, the biggest PC gaming storefront in the world — is facing a £656 million (roughly $900 million) class-action lawsuit in the UK. Originally filed in 2024 by digital rights activist Vicki Shotbolt, the case has now been allowed to continue by the Competition Appeal Tribunal per a new ruling.
The claim accuses Valve of "rigging the market and taking advantage of UK gamers" by contractually obligating publishers and developers to not sell their games on other platforms at lower prices than the versions available on Steam. This "forces" them to always give Steam the best deal and limits potential offers to customers, it's argued.
It's also claimed that Steam's versions of games only working with Steam's versions of DLC add-ons and expansions is anti-competitive, as it dissuades players from buying extra content for their games elsewhere and locks them into continuing to buy on Steam.
By "shutting out" PC gaming competition like this, Shotbolt asserts, Valve has been able to charge game studios an "excessive commission" of 30% for every game sold on its platform. The lawsuit argues this has driven costs up for players as developers seek to recoup revenue lost to this commission rate.
www.windowscentral.com
Valve — the creator of Steam, the biggest PC gaming storefront in the world — is facing a £656 million (roughly $900 million) class-action lawsuit in the UK. Originally filed in 2024 by digital rights activist Vicki Shotbolt, the case has now been allowed to continue by the Competition Appeal Tribunal per a new ruling.
The claim accuses Valve of "rigging the market and taking advantage of UK gamers" by contractually obligating publishers and developers to not sell their games on other platforms at lower prices than the versions available on Steam. This "forces" them to always give Steam the best deal and limits potential offers to customers, it's argued.
It's also claimed that Steam's versions of games only working with Steam's versions of DLC add-ons and expansions is anti-competitive, as it dissuades players from buying extra content for their games elsewhere and locks them into continuing to buy on Steam.
By "shutting out" PC gaming competition like this, Shotbolt asserts, Valve has been able to charge game studios an "excessive commission" of 30% for every game sold on its platform. The lawsuit argues this has driven costs up for players as developers seek to recoup revenue lost to this commission rate.
Steam dev Valve is facing a $900m lawsuit, accused of "rigging the market"
A $900m lawsuit filed against Valve claiming its business practices with Steam are "shutting out" the competition has been given the go ahead to continue.
www.windowscentral.com
