Valve will officially face a £656 million class-action lawsuit in the UK after the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled against the company’s attempt to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit, filed by digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt, accuses Valve of rigging the market through its standard 30% revenue cut on Steam sales. The claim argues that this commission is excessive and breaches competition law by forcing developers to pass costs on to consumers.
Additionally, the suit targets Valve’s “anti-steering” practices, which require users who purchase a base game on Steam to also buy all future DLC and add-ons through the platform. The case represents approximately 14 million UK PC gamers who may have been overcharged.