Sony has been summoned to court in a class action lawsuit filed by Dutch PlayStation players over “artificially high PlayStation prices.”
The class-action lawsuit against Sony was announced in February 2025, when the Dutch consumer group Massaschade & Consument had alleged that PlayStation Store’s prices were artificially high due to ‘Sony Tax’, and there were accusations about abuse of power. As a result, Sony has been summoned to court over the collective lawsuit.
Sony Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over PlayStation Store Pricing
As spotted by MP1ST, Massaschade & Consument’s new press release mentions Sony being summoned to court over the PlayStation Store pricing lawsuit. Many Dutch PlayStation owners feel they have been pushed towards ‘digital-only’ consoles since the latest PS5 generation.
It has been alleged that consoles “work exclusively with digital games instead of physical discs.” Moreover, their economic research reveals that consumers pay “an average of 47% more for these digital versions” than the same game on disc, even though PlayStation’s distribution costs are lower.
The release also discusses the allegations about the company’s “monopoly on digital sales,” which, combined with PlayStation’s large market share in the console market, leads to a so-called ‘Sony tax’. The tax is considered to be an artificially high price that leads to gamers spending more for digital games and in-game content.
Accusations Against Sony
The foundation makes two main accusations against Sony in this class-action lawsuit: “excluding competition and exploiting consumers and game developers”. The foundation feels that PlayStation’s platform “functions as a closed ecosystem”, allowing Sony to decide “who gets access, under what conditions and at what price”. Alternate stores are “technically excluded on the PlayStation”, which makes players dependent on Sony for their games.
Consequently, it has been alleged that Sony is “taking away developers’ commercial freedom of movement.” The report adds that third-party developers and publishers “are contractually obliged to sell their titles exclusively via the PlayStation Store.” Sony also has the final say on the price, which restricts the developers’ freedom to set their own price.
The foundation’s economic research states that Sony has made significant profits thanks to “these skewed ratios” as there is “more than twice as much margin on digital games as on physical copies”. The research reveals that “the damage for Dutch consumers has amounted to 435 million euros since 2013.”
The first hearing on this class-action lawsuit against Sony over PlayStation Store prices might be held later this year. What are your thoughts on it? Let us know below and join the official Insider Gaming forums discussion.
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will any good happen from this lawsuit?