A UK class action lawsuit against Sony over its 30 percent commission fees on digital PlayStation purchases reaches its conclusion this week. The case, valued at $2.6 billion, covers consumers who bought games via PlayStation Network from August 2016 to February 2026. This follows a separate US antitrust settlement that received preliminary approval last month.
The lawsuit claims Sony maintains a monopoly as the sole digital store for PlayStation consoles, preventing competition and resulting in higher prices for buyers. Sony has argued that cross-platform releases provide sufficient competition and that the fees help keep hardware prices lower. The company failed to dismiss the case in 2023 after an unsuccessful appeal. This UK action is distinct from a recently preliminarily approved $7.85 million class-action settlement in the US (Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment) covering eligible PlayStation Network users who purchased certain digital games or vouchers from 2019 to 2023.
