Sony is preparing to defend a £2bn (€2.35bn) lawsuit claiming millions of PlayStation users in the UK have been overcharged for console games.
The class action, brought by consumer champion Alex Neill on behalf of an estimated 12.2 million users, accuses Sony of levying “excessive and unfair” charges for downloads through the PlayStation Store.
The antitrust claim is due to be heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London unless there is a last-minute settlement, and it spotlights how the gaming trade has shifted from physical retail to digital downloads. The original PlayStation launched in the UK in 1995, running games off discs, yet most content on the latest PS5 is downloaded.
The PS5 has sold more than 90 million units since launching in 2020, and one of its cheapest models lacks a drive, though the standard version still takes physical media. The case argues that Sony has profited unfairly from consumers moving to digital, driven by better broadband and changing habits.
Claimants’ lawyer Robert Palmer KC said in court papers that Sony’s “closed ecosystem” has rendered digital users an “entirely captive class”. The lawsuit says Sony blocks rival download systems, then uses market power to charge developers and publishers a 30 per cent commission on digital buys, which is passed on to punters.
The claim is brought on an opt-out basis, so eligible users are included unless they choose to opt out, which helps drive the headline figure. The filing links the scale of the case to the surge in gaming during pandemic lockdowns, when people had time to buy more content and fewer places to spend money.
The PS5 has lagged Nintendo’s Switch among younger and casual players, yet it is stronger with hardcore gamers who buy the most content, and it has comfortably outsold Microsoft’s Xbox in that slice of the market. Those heavy spenders are exactly the ones who feel every digital price bump and every locked-in store rule.
Sony’s defence is that its distribution model is justified, partly because third-party download stores would introduce security and privacy risks. Sony says it invests heavily in hardware, sells consoles at a relatively low margin to build a user base, and uses the digital commission as cross-subsidisation to cover those costs.
The case joins a growing list of UK class actions targeting digital storefronts. In October, the Competition Appeal Tribunal found that the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple abused its dominance by charging developers commissions of up to 30 per cent on App Store purchases, and Job’s Mob is appealing.
If the claim succeeds, anyone who bought a digital PlayStation game or an in-game download over roughly the past 10 years, up to February 2026, could be eligible for compensation. The claimants’ legal team estimates 12.2mn users could be in line for £162 (€190.65) each, putting the total near £2bn (€2.35bn), a figure that includes the alleged overcharge plus 8 per cent interest.
