UK tribunal sends £656m Steam commission lawsuit against Valve to trial

Valve will have to defend a £656 million lawsuit in the UK after London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled the case can move forward to trial. The claim argues Steam’s standard 30% cut on game and add-on sales is “excessive” and ultimately pushes prices up for players.

According to the Reuters report, Valve had argued the case shouldn’t proceed, but the tribunal rejected that attempt and kept the suit on track.

The case was filed in June 2024 by Vicki Shotbolt, CEO of the digital safety group Parent Zone. Her legal team also argues Steam effectively “locks in” customers by requiring add-on content purchases to go through the platform.

The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of around 14 million Steam users in the UK. Damages are “provisionally estimated” at up to £656 million. Shotbolt’s initial filing says that could translate into compensation ranges of £8 to £23 for game purchases and £14 to £29 for add-on content, for a total of £22 to £44 per person, depending on what and how much they bought.

Shotbolt has also secured more than £18.6 million in funding to support the case, although Valve raised questions about those funding arrangements as part of its effort to stop the claim from reaching trial.

This isn’t the only legal pressure Valve is dealing with around Steam’s commission. Separate antitrust litigation in the UK involving Wolfire Studios and Dark Catt Studios has also targeted the 30% revenue share, and those cases have previously been combined and granted class action status.