US-based game developer Valve Corporation that created Half-Life and Team Fortress is facing a £656m class action in London for allegedly overcharging 14 million PC gamers in the UK.
The case details allege that Valve Corporation has shut out competition in the PC gaming market by forcing game publishers to sign up to ‘price parity’ obligations that dictate Steam always has the ‘best price’ and prevents the same games from being sold at a cheaper price on rival platforms.
It states that this has enabled the gaming giant to continue charging publishers an excessive commission—up to 30 per cent—and has led to UK consumers paying too much for purchasing PC games and add-on content.
The legal challenge states that Valve, via its PC video game distribution platform Steam, has breached competition law, and PC gamers have been charged excessive prices for at least six years.
Law firm Milberg London has launched the claim into the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), with campaigner Vicki Shotbolt lending her name to lead the claim.
The case has litigation funding secured, and Bench Walk Advisors is providing the financial backing.
Commenting on the case, the leading partner at Milberg, Natasha Pearman said: “UK gamers spend billions every year and Valve has a stranglehold on the PC gaming market. Competition law is there to protect consumers and ensure that markets work properly.”
“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. We’re delighted to be working with Vicki to seek compensation for UK consumers,” she added.
Milberg is the same law firm behind the £5bn class-action lawsuit brought against Sony back in 2022, for alledgy breaching competition law by overcharging for digital PlayStation games and in-game purchases.