Sony will soon settle a PlayStation Store class action lawsuit for $7.8 million

Source: Engadget

Image credit: Nwz/Shutterstock

Settlement Overview

If you bought a digital game on the PlayStation Store between April 2019 and December 2023, you may soon receive store credit in your account. A federal judge in San Francisco granted preliminary approval of a proposed $7.85 million settlement for a class‑action lawsuit that accused Sony of eliminating competition and monopolizing the market for its digital games through the PlayStation Store.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2021, claims Sony’s alleged anticompetitive conduct caused gamers to “pay more than they otherwise would have paid for certain digital games.” The legal action follows Sony’s elimination of “game‑specific vouchers” sold by third‑party companies in April 2019. The plaintiffs argued that those vouchers could have offered lower prices on the PlayStation Store if customers had alternative options through retailers such as Best Buy and GameStop.

Key Dates and Process

• Fairness Hearing: October 15 (final judgment and allocation plan)
• Credit Distribution: Eligible PSN accounts will be credited once the final approvals are in.

Eligible Games and Accounts

The law firm representing affected users posted a list of eligible games, which includes:

• The Last of Us
• NBA 2K18
• Need for Speed Rivals

There are more than 4.4 million eligible PlayStation Network accounts.

Related Legal Actions

• UK Class Action: A separate lawsuit in the United Kingdom accuses Sony of “unfairly charging its UK customers too much for digital games and in‑game content purchased through the PlayStation Store.”
• Potential UK Liability: Sony could face up to $2.7 billion in damages to UK residents as a result of alleged antitrust violations (source).