The antitrust lawsuit against Steam has just turned into a class action. Consequence: Valve may have to financially compensate not only Wolfire Games, but also other parties.
It’s a legal action that we had almost forgotten, and yet it is taking an unenviable turn for Valve. It was in 2021 that Wolfire Games, the studio behind Humble Bundle, filed a complaint in the United States against the Steam publisher for abuse of dominant position. An approach accompanied, the same year, by another antitrust lawsuit brought by another studio, Dark Catt.
The commissions of 30 to 20% retained by the platform for each game sale, judged as a “ industrial standard » by Valve, are one of the main elements retained by Wolfire Games and Dark Catt. And this, even though some of the competition (notably the Epic Games Store and Microsoft) only takes 12%. If the Steam publisher loses its lawsuit, it could therefore be obliged to put its hand into its wallet to compensate the two studios for the commissions they paid to it, over several years.
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If the actions of Wolfire Games and Dark Catt were initially rejected by the American courts, the publishers had the right to revise their copy to relaunch the trial, jointly, the following year. The legal episode has, however, just evolved significantly, since it has been expanded into a class action. Which means, in this case, that the two initial complainants could be joined by other studios. Bad news for Valve which could have significant consequences.
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A court decision that could cost Valve much more than expected
As noted GamesIndustryas it stands, the American giant could owe money to “ all persons or entities who, directly or through an agent, have paid a commission to Valve in connection with the sale or use of a game on the Steam platform on or after January 28, 2017 and until today “. Ouch! This decision would, as it stands, “only” games purchased in the United States, or would apply to publishers based in Uncle Sam’s country.
All the dice have not yet been cast, and there is still time before American justice makes its decision and the various actors have finished advancing their pawns. This new episode, however, does not go at all in the direction of Valve, which at the same time saw its request to exclude the testimony of an expert, a certain Dr. Steven Schwartz, rejected.
To be continued, therefore.
