The Competition Appeal Tribunal has certified a significant class action against Valve Corporation, involving claims of up to £656 million. The case alleges that Valve overcharged approximately 14 million consumers on its Steam platform through dominant market practices.
Certification and Claims
The Tribunal approved the proceedings despite Valve's objections concerning the methodologies for liability and class definitions. The action argues that Valve imposed platform parity obligations and anti-steering provisions, limiting competitive pricing and distribution options for game publishers.
- Claim size: £656m, affecting around 14 million Steam users.
- Allegations include unfair commissions and restrictive sale terms.
- Valve resisted certification, citing methodological faults.
Legal Context
The Tribunal addressed how this case relates to recent legal precedents, including Riefa v Amazon and Evans v Barclays. Unlike these cases, the Tribunal found class certification permissible, as this claim matches the 'paradigm' for opt-out certification described by the Supreme Court.
Riefa's funding assessment does not set a legal precedent here, and Evans does not block the class action's certification, enhancing the claim's viability.
