It would appear that consumers of the Sony PlayStation in the UK are feeling ripped off by the console’s digital storefront. A £5B class action lawsuit was filed this past weekend with the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, accusing Sony of overcharging for digital content and monopolizing how people can get PlayStation games.
The crux of the suit is tied to a 30% commission Sony collects on every digital game and add-on content purchase from the PlayStation Store, amounting to an alleged £5B ($5.9B USD) fleecing that UK consumers have faced since August 2016.
The suit also alleges that Sony is engaging in “an anti-competitive strategy” and forcing strict terms on game devs and publishers, making the PlayStation Store the primary method for players to get their games and add-on content for the console digitally. Those who are part of the class action stand to get between £67 and £562 ($79 and $662 USD) in compensation.
“We believe that customers are paying too much for these digital products and that they deserve to be treated better by Sony and compensated,” reads a website created for the claim. “Games are now designed to incentivize players to spend as much money as possible (including children).”
This class action is similar to one filed in May of last year, likely spurred by the then-ongoing case of Apple vs. Epic. Sony has not responded with any comment to this new UK lawsuit.
