Developer and digital distribution powerhouse Valve is currently embroiled in a significant legal battle, facing allegations that it imposes excessive commissions on publishers selling their games through its popular platform, Steam. The provisional damages in question could reach as high as £656 million (approximately 7.7 million).
This development was reported by Reuters following a ruling from a tribunal in Britain, which has allowed the case to proceed. The lawsuit, initiated in June 2024, represents the interests of up to 14 million consumers in the UK who have purchased games or additional content via Steam or other platforms since 2018.
Details of the Allegations
At the helm of this case is Vicki Shotbolt, a children’s welfare advocate. Her legal team contends that Valve’s practices restrict publishers from offering their products at lower prices or earlier on competing platforms. The allegations suggest that Valve enforces conditions that compel users to acquire all additional content through Steam if they initially purchased the game on the platform, effectively “locking in” customers to its ecosystem.
During a hearing in October, Shotbolt’s lawyers argued that this practice enables Valve to levy “unfair and excessive” commissions, reportedly as high as 30 percent—a figure that has long been acknowledged within the gaming industry.
In response, Valve has maintained that the case should not advance to trial, asserting that its commission structure is justified by the services it provides to developers. However, the London Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled otherwise, allowing the case to move forward, although no trial date has yet been established.
This is not the first time Valve has faced scrutiny over its commission policies. In 2021, Wolfire Games, the developer behind Overgrowth, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company, claiming that Valve’s substantial revenue cut from Steam sales created an “unassailable” monopoly in the PC game distribution market. Wolfire argued that Valve exploits its market dominance to extract high fees from developers, highlighting the standard 30 percent commission that Steam has historically charged.
Valve sought to dismiss the lawsuit, contending that its commission accurately reflects the value of the services rendered to developers. Ultimately, in late 2021, the lawsuit was dismissed by District Judge John C. Coughenour, who determined that Wolfire had not sufficiently demonstrated that Valve’s fees were “supracompetitive.”
Following this dismissal, the lawsuit was refiled in 2022 and merged with a similar antitrust claim from Dark Catt Studios. By November 2024, as reported by GamesIndustry.Biz, the combined lawsuits were granted class action status, expanding the scope of the dispute to encompass any developers, publishers, or individuals who have paid a commission to Valve for game sales since January 28, 2017.
