Valve being sued for £656m in UK amid accusations of Steam market rigging
Valve is being sued for £656m by a UK digital rights campaigner, who claims the company is rigging the PC games market and deliberately "shutting out" competition through Steam. The accusations have been made in a collective action claim filed with the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal by digital rights activist Vicki Shotbolt. As per an accompanying website encouraging people to join the claim, the suit alleges Valve's conduct "amounts to an abuse of its dominant position which is in breach of UK competition law". It also argues 14m people in the UK have been overcharged for PC games as a result, and is seeking compensation of between £22 and £44 for each one. Three issues are central to the suit, beginning with the claim Valve "imposes" price parity clauses on publishers and developers preventing them from selling titles at cheaper prices on rival platforms. The suit argues this limits consumer choice and harms competition, adding that Valve's decision prohibits consumers from purchasing DLC for their Steam games on rival platforms also "restricts competition in the market". This, combined with an "excessive commission of up to 30 percent" - said to have resulted in "inflated prices on its Steam" - means, according to the suit, UK consumers are paying too much for purchasing PC games and DLC. Read more
Valve is being sued for £656m by a UK digital rights campaigner, who claims the company is rigging the PC games market and deliberately "shutting out" competition through Steam.
The accusations have been made in a collective action claim filed with the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal by digital rights activist Vicki Shotbolt. As per an accompanying website encouraging people to join the claim, the suit alleges Valve's conduct "amounts to an abuse of its dominant position which is in breach of UK competition law". It also argues 14m people in the UK have been overcharged for PC games as a result, and is seeking compensation of between £22 and £44 for each one.
Three issues are central to the suit, beginning with the claim Valve "imposes" price parity clauses on publishers and developers preventing them from selling titles at cheaper prices on rival platforms. The suit argues this limits consumer choice and harms competition, adding that Valve's decision prohibits consumers from purchasing DLC for their Steam games on rival platforms also "restricts competition in the market". This, combined with an "excessive commission of up to 30 percent" - said to have resulted in "inflated prices on its Steam" - means, according to the suit, UK consumers are paying too much for purchasing PC games and DLC.
