PlayStation Is Sued for £5 Billion Over Rip-off Games
Published: August 24, 2022
Alex Neill, the consumer rights advocate, leads the group’s legal action against Sony PlayStation. They are suing the gaming company for £5 billion since its customers believe they’ve been overcharged.
The legal action claims that PlayStation violated competition law by forcing unfair conditions on game developers and publishers, including a 30% commission on digital games or in-game purchases bought by the online PlayStation Store.
Neill filed the claim at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK. As a result, PlayStation now faces the possibility of compensating nearly nine million gamers for abusing its market dominance.
Neill knows that undertaking a company like Sony is a huge deal, but they’re doing it because they firmly believe they will win the case. She stands up for the millions of people who have been unknowingly overcharged.
The citizens of the UK will have an automatic claim if they have owned a PS console since August 19, 2016, bought games, or add-on content on their console or from the PlayStation Store. However, Neill is aware that such cases can take years to resolve.
They’re still hoping Sony will settle, given the number of affected users and the amount believed to be overcharged by Sony PlayStation. But unfortunately, the people eligible for compensation may be left waiting if the gaming company refuses to settle.
By 2021, the company had sold 17.3 million PS5 units. However, over the last six years, allegations that customers have been overcharged for digital gaming purchases have started to surface. In the claim, the estimated damages per person are between £67 and £562.
Similar legal actions have been brought against Google and Apple in other countries. But in this case, PlayStation hasn’t responded yet to any of the allegations.
