A new development has emerged in the investigation of Steam's alleged monopoly on the PC store market. The court has converted the lawsuit from Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios against Valve into a class action suit. This means that many other developers can now join the case.
Overgrowth
All individuals and entities who have paid a commission to Steam for selling a game at least once since January 28, 2017, are now allowed to become additional plaintiffs. According to the stipulations: the trial is taking place in the US, so those wishing to participate must either be based in the States themselves or have sold their game to American gamers.
It is currently unknown whether anyone has joined the lawsuit yet.
As a reminder, the antitrust case against Steam began in 2021. Initially, only Wolfire Games filed the suit, followed shortly by Dark Catt Studios. Since the studios had similar complaints, the court merged their lawsuits into one case, which has not yet been fully resolved.
Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios accuse Valve of abusing its position in the market and exploiting publishers and customers. Specifically, the studios are dissatisfied with the commission rate on Steam. They argue that a 30% fee is excessively high, forcing sellers to increase game prices and spend less on development. Additionally, Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios claim that Valve prohibits games from being sold on other platforms at prices lower than those on Steam.