Finance
Video game giant Valve facing UK lawsuit over pricing, commissions
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
Valve is facing a £656 million lawsuit in the UK over alleged excessive commissions on its Steam platform, affecting millions of consumers.
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Video game developer and distributor Valve must face a 656 million-pound ($897.7 million) lawsuit in Britain, which alleges it charged publishers excessive commissions for its Steam online store, after a tribunal ruled on Monday the case could continue.
Valve was sued in 2024 on behalf of up to 14 million people in the United Kingdom who bought games or additional content through Steam or other platforms since 2018.
Lawyers representing children's welfare advocate Vicki Shotbolt, who is bringing the case, allege Valve prevents publishers selling products more cheaply or earlier on rival platforms to Steam by imposing conditions on them.
They say Valve requires users to buy all additional content through Steam if they've bought that game through the platform, effectively "locking in" users to make purchases on its platform.
This allows Valve to charge "unfair and excessive" commissions of up to 30%, Shotbolt's lawyers said at a hearing in October.
Valve argued the case should not be certified to proceed towards a trial, an early step in the proceedings, but London's Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled the case could continue.
Valve did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the latest mass case to get the go-ahead in Britain, including separate cases against Apple over its App Store and Google over its Play Store, both of which centre on commissions of up to 30%.
Valve is separately facing a consumer action brought by gamers in the United States, which was filed in Seattle in August 2024.
($1 = 0.7308 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Excessive commissions refer to fees charged by a company that are considered unreasonably high compared to industry standards or the value of the service provided.
A tribunal is a type of court or forum that is established to resolve disputes, often in specific areas such as employment or administrative law.
Consumer protection refers to laws and regulations designed to ensure the rights of consumers are upheld and to prevent businesses from engaging in unfair practices.
A competition appeal tribunal is a specialized court that hears appeals against decisions made by competition authorities regarding market competition and consumer protection.
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