Valve is being sued by a UK law firm to the tune of £656m (around $840m) over claims that the Steam service is ripping off consumers owing to unfair price parity obligations.
Per the BBC, UK law firm Milberg London LLP, which also brought a case making similar claims against Sony back in 2022, is claiming that Valve uses its dominance over the digital PC gaming market to impose unfair charges on 14 million UK consumers.
Digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt is leading the case, and she’s alleging that Valve is “rigging the market” thanks to price parity obligations, which, according to Milberg London’s claim, publishers on Steam are “force[d]” to sign up to.
According to Shotbolt and the claim, Valve makes publishers who want their games on Steam sign up to promise that they won’t charge less for their games on other platforms.
This leads to Valve being able to charge what Shotbolt calls “an excessive commission of up to 30%” on its games, which in turn drives prices up and forces consumers to pay more than they should.
The claim alleges that Valve has been engaging in this practice for at least six years, and that a victory would “stop this unlawful conduct” and help consumers “get back what they are owed”.
Given that the Epic Games Store takes just 12% compared to Valve’s cut, but that games are rarely (if ever) cheaper on Epic’s store, this claim seems like a slightly strange one, although given past form, it may only be a matter of time before those companies find themselves in Milberg London’s sights as well.
This also isn’t the first time Valve has found itself in legal trouble over supposedly unfair price parity agreements.
Back in 2021, Valve was sued by Humble Bundle creator Wolfire Games, which alleged that the Steam provider forced publishers to sign up for price parity agreements or risk having their games removed from Steam.
It seems like this is a legal argument that isn’t going to go away for Valve, and given that Milberg London’s case against Sony appears to still be ongoing, it may be one that comes back to haunt the Washington-based gaming giant. Stay tuned for more.
