Valve is going to have to defend itself in court for its pricing and commission practices. A class action lawsuit in the United Kingdom (UK) brought against the company is looking for roughly $900 million (£656 million) in damages.
First filed back in 2024 by Vicki Shotbolt, the lawsuit claims that Valve charges “excessive commission charges” that lead to “an unfair price which is then passed on to consumers”.
The lawsuit also alleges that Valve forces platform party obligations “that prohibit publishers from selling products through other distribution channels on better terms than the same Products are available on Steam.” They say that this practice is likely to restrict competition.
Valve Argues That There’s Not Enough Evidence
Valve’s defense claims that the group suing the company can’t establish proper claims regarding its commission pricing due to the fact that the suit doesn’t “consider the effect of Steam Keys”.
“Without a credible plan for taking Steam Keys into account, the PCR cannot establish Steam’s actual effective commission charge, and without this, the PCR cannot establish whether the commission charge amounts to an unfair price,” Valve argues.
They also say that suing group “failed to show a plan to determine which Steam Partners actually paid these allegedly unfair prices.”
Despite these arguments and others, the London Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that the case must move forward. As of publishing, Valve has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
The case was filed on behalf of up to 14 million users, including minors. Shotbolt’s attorneys say that the average loss ranges between $30-$60 (£22-£44) per person.
What do you think of the class action lawsuit against Valve regarding commission charges and pricing practices? Leave your thoughts down in the comments below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
For more news, read about Ubisoft proposing up to 200 job cuts at its Paris headquarters. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
More from Mike Straw
To be frank, I don’t know any case when Valve forced these rules, and even when someone reported such cases to Steam support directly. The response was just – “Thank you. We will check it out.”, and that’s it.
Self-published developers I am aware of have been considering these “rules” as fair suggestion from Valve who point out that it’s important to Valve stay afloat in competition, where many developers will just follow these getting the point, which is straightforward.
A few developers I know do find following this “rule” a respect towards the platform in general even.
So UK ban Valve possible? Very strange can this get thrown out is someone getting held accountable? Didn’t expect this