Valve Accused of Overcharging 14 Million People in the UK

Valve Corporation, the company behind Steam, is facing a lawsuit totaling £656m (approximately $840 million). The suit alleges that Valve has exploited its market dominance to overcharge 14 million UK users. 

Digital rights activist Vicki Shotbolt, who initiated the lawsuit, stated, "Valve is rigging the market and taking advantage of UK gamers."

The lawsuit filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London argues that Valve is "shutting out" competition in the PC gaming market. It also contends that Valve mandates game publishers to comply with their price parity conditions, which prohibites the sale of titles at lower prices on competitor platforms.

Ms Shotbolt highlighted that the "excessive commission of up to 30%" charged by Steam has caused UK consumers to overpay for PC games and additional content. Thus, she is bringing the claim to "stop this unlawful conduct and help people get back what they are owed."

"The claim is backed by legal firm Milberg London LLP, which brings group action cases against large companies," according to BBC, who quoted Natasha Pearman, a partner at the law firm, as saying, "Competition law is there to protect consumers and ensure that markets work properly."

BBC contacted Valve for comment, but at the time of writing this article, Valve has not yet responded.

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