Valve is facing a £656 million or over $901 million USD lawsuit in the United Kingdom after a tribunal ruled that legal action over Steam’s alleged monopoly power and pricing practices can proceed to trial.
The case accuses Valve of abusing its dominant position in the PC gaming market through Steam, leading to higher prices for consumers and restricted competition for developers. Originally filed in 2024, the lawsuit has now cleared a major procedural hurdle, with no trial date set yet.
UK Tribunal Clears Steam Lawsuit To Proceed
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has rejected Valve’s attempt to block the case at an early stage, allowing the collective action to move forward. The lawsuit, reported by BBC, was brought by digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt in June 2024 and focuses on the operation of Steam, the world’s largest PC game storefront.
The claim is being brought on behalf of up to 14 million Steam users in the United Kingdom who purchased games or add-on content since 2018. Damages are provisionally estimated at £656 million, or roughly $900 million USD, depending on exchange rates.
If successful, individual users could receive compensation estimated at $28 to $56 USD per person, based on combined game and DLC purchases.
Allegations Of High Fees And Restricted Competition
At the centre of the legal action are allegations that Valve has abused its market dominance by imposing restrictive terms on publishers and consumers. Shotbolt argues that Steam’s standard 30 percent revenue cut is excessive and ultimately passed on to players through higher prices.
The lawsuit also claims that Valve restricts competition by preventing publishers from selling games at lower prices, or releasing them earlier, on rival platforms. In addition, if a player buys a game on Steam, any additional content must also be purchased through Steam, a practice the case describes as locking users into Valve’s ecosystem.
According to Shotbolt, these policies have reduced consumer choice and inflated prices across the UK PC gaming market.
Funding And Legal Backing Confirmed
The legal action is backed by more than £18.6 million, around $25 million USD, in funding and is supported by group action law firm Milberg London LLP. Valve challenged the funding arrangements as part of its effort to stop the case from progressing, but those objections were dismissed by the tribunal.
Valve has disputed the allegations, arguing that the claim lacks a clear methodology for calculating effective commission rates or measuring consumer harm.
Valve Already Under Pressure In The US
This is not the first time Valve has faced legal scrutiny over Steam’s business model. In the United States, developers Wolfire Studios and Dark Catt Studios filed antitrust lawsuits in 2021 accusing Valve of maintaining a monopoly over PC game distribution.
Those cases were initially dismissed, later refiled, and combined. By November 2024, the US lawsuits had been granted class action status. A separate consumer-focused case targeting Steam pricing was also filed in the US in August 2024.
Steam’s Scale And Industry Influence
Steam remains the dominant force in PC gaming. Industry data suggests more than 19,000 games launched on the platform in 2025, generating an estimated $11.7 billion USD in revenue. Valve has also expanded into hardware, most notably with the Steam Machine, strengthening its ecosystem beyond software sales.
Image Credit: Valve
While supporters argue that Valve’s commission rates are in line with console platforms such as PlayStation and Xbox, critics say Steam’s reach gives it outsized power over both developers and consumers.
What The Lawsuit Could Mean For PC Gaming
If the UK case succeeds, millions of Steam users could become eligible for compensation, and Valve may be forced to reconsider how Steam handles pricing, commissions, and platform restrictions. A ruling against Valve could also open the door to similar legal actions in other regions.
For now, the case represents one of the most significant legal threats Steam has faced in its history, with potential consequences that could reshape how PC games are sold worldwide.