Valve Corporation, the operator of Steam, is currently defending a Steam lawsuit on five separate fronts. A federal antitrust class action in Washington state is the largest and closest to trial. New York’s attorney general has sued over loot boxes. A UK collective action seeking £656 million has been certified. A Dutch consumer group is pursuing a €220 million claim. And the European Commission’s €1.6 million geo-blocking fine against Valve is on appeal at the EU’s top court.
The US Antitrust Class Action
The central case is In re Valve Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:21-cv-00563, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington before Judge Jamal N. Whitehead.1CourtListener. In Re Valve Antitrust Litigation2ClassAction.org. Valve Has Come To Dominate PC Gaming Market by Suppressing Competition, Antitrust Class Action Alleges3Game World Observer. Steam Class Action Lawsuit Over 30% Cut
The plaintiffs claim Steam channels roughly 75 percent of all PC game sales and that Valve exploits that dominance in two ways. First, Valve takes a 30 percent commission on nearly every game sold through Steam, while competitors like the Epic Games Store charge 12 percent. Second, “Platform Most Favored Nation” clauses in Valve’s contracts allegedly prohibit publishers from selling their games at lower prices on rival storefronts. The combination, plaintiffs argue, forces publishers to pass the cost of the 30 percent cut on to consumers everywhere and makes price competition impossible.2ClassAction.org. Valve Has Come To Dominate PC Gaming Market by Suppressing Competition, Antitrust Class Action Alleges4Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. In Re Valve Antitrust Litigation5Hagens Berman. Valve Steam Store PC Game Antitrust
The plaintiffs estimate Valve’s commission generates more than $6 billion in annual revenue.6Tech Insider. Valve Steam Antitrust Lawsuit
Who Is Covered
On November 25, 2024, Judge Whitehead certified a developer class of approximately 32,000 game publishers and studios, with Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios as co-class representatives. The class covers anyone who paid a commission to Valve on Steam game sales on or after January 28, 2017.7Bloomberg Law. Developers Get Class Status in Steam Gaming Platform Litigation8Justia. Wolfire Games v. Valve Corporation, Filing 391 The court found the plaintiffs had presented a “cogent market definition” and rejected Valve’s challenges to plaintiffs’ expert economist, Dr. Steven Schwartz.9Secretariat International. Game Publishers Win Class Certification in Landmark Valve Antitrust Litigation
A consumer class is also taking shape. On May 2, 2025, Judge Whitehead appointed Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll as sole Interim Lead Class Counsel for a proposed consumer class, and an amended complaint was filed on June 27, 2025.4Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. In Re Valve Antitrust Litigation
Trial Timing
In late March 2026, the court denied Valve’s motion for summary judgment, ruling the plaintiffs had presented enough evidence for a jury to decide the claims.6Tech Insider. Valve Steam Antitrust Lawsuit A jury trial is expected sometime in the 2026–2027 window unless the parties settle first. If the plaintiffs succeed, the most likely outcome is a court injunction banning the price-parity clauses, plus damages for the certified developer class and potentially a consumer class.
Why Individual Gamers Can Now Sue in Court
For years, consumer claims were locked out of court. In October 2021, a federal judge ruled that Steam’s subscriber agreement required individual gamers to pursue antitrust claims through binding arbitration rather than a class action.2ClassAction.org. Valve Has Come To Dominate PC Gaming Market by Suppressing Competition, Antitrust Class Action Alleges
Law firms turned that mandate against Valve. Zaiger LLC recruited more than 50,000 users to file individual arbitration demands, exposing Valve to over $225 million in arbitration fees alone. Between 2017 and 2022, Valve had handled only two arbitration cases. Mason LLP ran a parallel mass-arbitration campaign, estimating individual damages at 30 to 60 percent of what each user had spent on Steam since January 2017.10University of British Columbia Video Game Law. The End of Steam’s Arbitration Agreement11Mason LLP. Valve Mass Arbitration
Facing the bill, Valve reversed course. A subscriber agreement update that took effect November 1, 2024 removed the mandatory arbitration clause and the class action waiver entirely, letting consumers resolve disputes in court.12Game Developer. Valve Eliminates Steam’s Arbitration Clause in New Agreement Update Valve then moved to halt all pending arbitrations on the ground that no arbitration agreement between the parties existed anymore.10University of British Columbia Video Game Law. The End of Steam’s Arbitration Agreement The change opened the door for the consumer class action now proceeding alongside the developer class.
The New York Loot Box Lawsuit
On February 25, 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed suit against Valve in Manhattan’s New York Supreme Court, alleging that loot boxes in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 constitute illegal gambling under the New York State Constitution and penal law.13Reuters. New York Sues Video Game Developer Valve, Says Its Loot Boxes Are Gambling
The complaint describes Valve’s system as “quintessential gambling”: players spend real money on keys to open loot boxes, receiving items of wildly varying value. The AG’s office called the model “pernicious” because of its popularity among children and adolescents, citing research that children introduced to gambling by age 12 are four times more likely to develop problem gambling as adults. James is seeking restitution for players and a fine of three times Valve’s alleged illegal gains.13Reuters. New York Sues Video Game Developer Valve, Says Its Loot Boxes Are Gambling
Valve responded on March 11, 2026 with a statement posted on Steam, denying the charges and comparing its loot boxes to baseball cards, Pokémon cards, and blind-boxed toys. The company said it would refuse to implement “invasive technologies” to track user location or collect additional personal data for age verification, and noted it had locked more than one million Steam accounts associated with gambling, fraud, and theft. Valve said it would comply if the New York legislature passed laws specifically governing mystery boxes but maintained the AG’s demands go beyond existing law.14Valve. Steam Statement on New York Attorney General Lawsuit15Polygon. Valve Response to New York Attorney General Lawsuit
On May 18, 2026, Valve filed a 42-page motion to dismiss with prejudice through its counsel at Milbank LLP. The case is before New York Supreme Court Justice Nancy Bannon, and the motion is pending.16Courthouse News Service. Valve Moves to Dismiss Counter-Strike Gambling Lawsuit in New York
The UK Collective Action
A collective action was filed against Valve at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal on June 5, 2024 by digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt, acting through Vicki Shotbolt Class Representative Limited. The case (No. 1640/7/7/24) alleges Valve abused its dominant market position in breach of Section 18 of the UK Competition Act 1998 and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.17Competition Appeal Tribunal. Shotbolt v Valve Corporation, Judgment (CPO Application)
The claims mirror the US case: price parity obligations, excessive commissions of up to 30 percent, and anti-steering provisions that prevent developers from directing customers to cheaper alternatives. The action represents up to 14 million UK consumers who bought PC games or add-on content via Steam and seeks aggregate damages provisionally estimated at £656 million.18Competition Appeal Tribunal (PDF). Summary of Collective Proceedings Claim Form19BBC. Steam Lawsuit UK
On January 26, 2026, the Tribunal granted a Collective Proceedings Order on an opt-out basis. All eligible UK consumers are automatically included unless they choose to remove themselves. The eligible period runs from June 4, 2018 to June 4, 2024 for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and from January 1, 2010 for Scotland. If the claim succeeds, estimated individual payouts would be between £22 and £44, with potentially higher amounts for Scottish consumers.20Steam You Owe Us. Steam You Owe Us A case management conference was scheduled for June 22, 2026. No trial date has been set.21Competition Appeal Tribunal. Shotbolt v Valve Corporation Case Page
The Dutch Consumer Claim
In the Netherlands, the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation (Stichting Consumenten Competition Claims, or CCCF) launched a campaign called “GameClaim.” Working with economists at Copenhagen Economics, the foundation estimates Dutch gamers have overpaid by more than €220 million, or roughly €130 per affected Steam account across approximately 2 million Dutch accounts.22NL Times. Dutch Gamers File €220 Million Claim Against Valve
The legal theory tracks the US and UK claims: a 30 percent commission and rules preventing developers from offering lower prices on competing platforms. The CCCF has also cited historical geo-blocking of Steam keys in Europe and the mandatory 30 percent commission on in-game microtransactions processed via the Steam Wallet.23PC Gamer. Dutch Non-Profit Set to Take Valve to Court for Keeping Game Prices High As of June 2026, the CCCF has invited Valve to negotiate an out-of-court settlement. If those discussions fail, formal litigation is expected, though any resolution is likely years away.24TweakTown. Valve Hit With Multi-Hundred Million Dollar Lawsuit Over Artificially Inflating PC Game Prices
The EU Geo-Blocking Fine on Appeal
Valve has already been sanctioned once. On January 20, 2021, the European Commission fined Valve and five game publishers — Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media, and ZeniMax — a combined €7.8 million for violating EU competition law by geo-blocking Steam activation keys. The restrictions prevented consumers in eight Central and Eastern European countries from activating or playing certain games. Valve was fined €1.6 million and was the only party that did not receive a cooperation reduction, having refused to acknowledge the infringement.25Cleary Antitrust Watch. Game Over: Valve and PC Video Game Publishers Fined for Geo-Blocking Practices
Valve appealed. On September 27, 2023, the EU General Court upheld the Commission’s decision, rejecting Valve’s argument that it was merely a provider of technical services. The court found Valve had a direct financial interest in geo-blocking because it protected the 30 percent commission from being undercut by cheaper imports from lower-priced countries. Valve has appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, where the case remains pending.26Macfarlanes. Valve Corporation v Commission: The General Court Rules
Where Things Stand
The US antitrust case is the furthest along, with summary judgment denied and a jury trial expected in 2026 or 2027. The New York loot box case is in its early stages, with Valve’s motion to dismiss pending. The UK collective action is certified and in case management with no trial date. The Dutch claim is still in pre-litigation. The EU geo-blocking appeal is at the Court of Justice.
No settlement has been reported in any of these proceedings. Valve has not publicly signaled any willingness to change its commission structure or pricing practices.27Bloomberg. Valve’s Antitrust Reckoning Over Steam