With a decision taken by the European Union Commission in January 2021; The famous game platform and 5 game companies were fined a total of 7.8 million Euros on the grounds that “Geographically blocking the activation key of Steam and 5 game companies violates the European Union competition law.” Going to court regarding the fine in question Steam, could not find what he was looking for on legal grounds. Evaluating the objection, the General Court of the European Union approved the fine, stating that the decision was in accordance with the law.
EU General Court Rejected Valve’s Objection, Penalty for Steam and 5 Game Companies Finalized!
A press briefing was made today (September 27) by the General Court of the EU, which is affiliated with the European Court of Justice. In the information made by the General Court of the EU, which is headquartered in Luxembourg and affiliated with the European Court of Justice; By the EU Commission in January 2021 Steam and 5 game companies It was declared that the objection regarding the sentence given was discussed and decided.
Stating that the fine imposed for “geo-blocking the activation keys of the Steam platform violates EU competition law” was in accordance with the law and the guidelines, the court emphasized that the objection was not justified. As a result of the decision, Valve and 5 other game companies will have to pay a total fine of 7.8 million Euros ($9.45 million).
Why Did the EU Fine the Gaming Companies?
To briefly summarize the reason for the 7.8 million Euro fine:
Not all games are sold at the same price in all European Union countries. Due to prices that may vary from country to country, games should be purchased in countries where they are cheaper and played in countries where they are more expensive. valve and was blocked by 5 other gaming companies.
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Prevents activation in other countries to prevent the game from being played from a location other than the EU country, where it is purchased at a relatively cheap price. Steam and 5 other game companieswas fined by the EU Commission upon complaints. The objection against the fine was rejected on the grounds that “geoblocking is unlawful”.
Which other companies were penalized along with Valve?
Other game companies that were penalized along with Valve’s platform Steam were as follows:
- Bandai
- capcom
- FocusHome
- Koch
- Media and ZeniMax
While no statement has yet been received from the companies in question regarding the decision taken by the court, it is stated that there is no other authority to object to the decision.
The original full text of the decision of the EU General Court can be found here: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-09/cp230147en.pdf