Video game industry leaders accused of price-fixing conspiracy

Gaming giants including Valve, Sony and Blizzard face legal action over claims they stifled competition in the gaming marketplace.(CN) — Most computer gamers aren’t just familiar with a platform called Steam. Chances are, they rarely use anything else.Three Steam customers sued in California’s San Mateo County Superior Court on Thursday, claiming the virtual store’s dominance stems from an anti-competitive scheme that violates California antitrust law.Owned by Seattle-area game developer and publisher Valve, Steam has long been the most popular digital marketplace for PC games, drawing consumers with its summer sales, straightforward design and exclusive Valve releases.Steam carries countless games from developers worldwide but requires third-party titles sold on its platform not to be priced lower elsewhere, including on developers’ own websites. That restriction prompted a 2021 federal antitrust class action, Wolfire Games LLC et al. v. Valve Corporation, which remains pending in Seattle.Valve takes up to a 30% cut from third-party sales on Steam. The company, known for its unconventional employee structure and limited public relations, also faces litigation in the United Kingdom.The California suit not only aims at Valve, but points the finger at other major game companies, including Ubisoft, Capcom, Electronic Arts and Square Enix, among others. The plaintiffs say those companies accepted Valve’s terms to gain “promotional visibility to Steam’s massive user base” rather than meaningfully competing on other platforms.“The effect of these agreements was to reduce competition, reduce product diversity and availability, and increase prices for consumers,” the plaintiffs wrote, arguing that the defendants’ conduct is unlawful under California state antitrust law, chiefly the Cartwright Act.The plaintiffs seek to represent California PC game customers of the 11 corporate defendants, who altogether control a lopsided majority of the U.S. computer gaming market.Valve CEO Gabe Newell has rejected claims that Steam monopolizes the PC gaming market. Although its closest competitor, the Epic Games Store, holds only a fraction of Steam’s market share, Newell said “customers have enormous choice” in a 2023 deposition in Wolfire v. Valve.Earlier this month, another federal lawsuit hit Valve in Seattle federal court, filed by four game customers accusing the corporation of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.The California state plaintiffs seek financial restitution and an injunction preventing Valve from limiting external, competitive pricing of third-party games sold on its platform.Categories / UncategorizedSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads