Gaming giant Steam faces £656M lawsuit in UK: Here's why
Valve Corporation, the parent company of Steam, the world's largest PC gaming platform, is facing a £656 million lawsuit in the UK. The legal action, initiated by digital rights advocate Vicki Shotbolt, alleges that Valve has exploited its market dominance to overcharge 14 million UK consumers. The case has been presented to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, with Valve accused of "shutting out" competition in the PC gaming market. Valve has not yet responded to these allegations.
Company accused of anti-competitive practices
The lawsuit accuses Valve of imposing price parity obligations on game publishers, which allegedly prevent titles from being sold at lower prices on competing platforms. This practice has enabled Steam to charge an "excessive commission of up to 30%" leading to inflated prices for purchasing games/add-on content for UK consumers. The case is classified as a collective action claim, where one individual represents a larger group. Shotbolt has accused Valve of violating UK competition law for over six years.
Steam's dominance in the PC gaming market
Steam, a platform for purchasing games and in-game items, had a successful year in 2023, according to VG Insights. The platform recorded sales of over $9 billion globally, driven by the sale of 580 million games and the release of 14,000 new games. Despite this success, the market is highly concentrated, with the top 10 bestsellers accounting for 61% of all sales and the top 100 games making up 91% of total sales.
Legal firm supports the lawsuit against Valve
The lawsuit against Valve is supported by Milberg London LLP, a legal firm known for handling group action cases against large corporations. Natasha Pearman, a partner at the firm, stated that "When they don't work properly and consumers are harmed, collective actions of this kind provide consumers with a voice and a way of holding big companies, like Valve, to account."
