Steam owner Valve faces $898 million UK lawsuit

A UK tribunal has ruled that a £656 million ($897.7 million) lawsuit against video game company Valve can move forward, as per a recent report by Reuters. The case alleges the company charged excessive commissions on its Steam online store.

The lawsuit, filed in 2024 on behalf of up to 14 million UK consumers, claims Valve imposes conditions on game publishers that prevent them from selling products more cheaply or earlier on rival platforms. According to the claimants' lawyers, these conditions effectively "lock in" users who purchase a game on Steam, forcing them to buy all additional content for that game through Valve's platform.

This alleged practice is said to allow Valve to charge commissions of up to 30%, which the lawsuit describes as "unfair and excessive," as per the Reuters report. Valve argued the case should not proceed, but was overruled by London's Competition Appeal Tribunal on Monday.

The case is part of a series of similar mass consumer actions in the UK targeting major digital storefronts, including separate lawsuits against Apple and Google over their app store commissions, adds Reuters. Valve is also facing a separate consumer lawsuit in the United States.