Valve Subjected to Class Lawsuit Over Steam

The antitrust lawsuit filed against Valve in 2022 by Wolfire Games, the developer of the game Overgrowth, was approved by the court as a class action lawsuit. This decision could cause big problems for Valve. The lawsuit has now been expanded to include not just Wolfire and Dark Catt Studios, which had previously filed a similar lawsuit, but anyone who has sold games on Steam since 2017.

Valve Accused of Unfair Competition

In his original lawsuit, Wolfire claimed that Valve was using its dominant position in the PC gaming market to stifle competition and take an unfairly high share of sales through Steam. The case was initially dismissed, but Wolfire was given the opportunity to reorganize and re-file his complaint. In 2022, Wolfire managed to revive the lawsuit and it was consolidated with a similar lawsuit filed by Dark Catt Studios.

The class action status calls into question Valve’s 30% share of Steam sales (which drops to 20% as sales increase). Although Valve defends this as the industry standard, the fact that rival platforms such as Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store only have a 12% share calls into question Valve’s rate.

Although the case will take time to conclude, if Wolfire and the other plaintiffs win, Valve could be required to pay a hefty sum in damages. This may lead the company to rethink its revenue sharing policies on Steam.

Experts point out that this class-action lawsuit puts the business models of digital game stores and their relationships with game developers under the spotlight. It is stated that the case may have consequences that may affect not only Valve but the entire gaming industry.

This legal process initiated by Wolfire, which has now turned into a class action lawsuit, has the potential to have serious consequences for Valve and Steam. It is useful to closely follow this case, which questions the balance of power in the gaming industry and the role of digital stores.