According to the lawsuit, 1.7 million citizens have suffered damages exceeding €435 million since 2013 due to their inability to purchase disc-based (used) games.
A class action lawsuit has been filed in the European Union against Sony, accusing the company of charging artificially high prices on the PlayStation Store. The lawsuit claims that Sony’s monopoly and control over pricing within its own storefront have cost Dutch PlayStation users €435 million since 2013. The case began earlier this year when the Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation launched its “Fair PlayStation” campaign in February. Within days, the petition had attracted over 20,000 Dutch residents who felt deceived by Sony’s business practices. Since then, the case has evolved into a class action, with at least 1.7 million PlayStation owners potentially eligible for compensation.
Many consumers feel that since the release of the PlayStation 5, they’ve been increasingly pushed toward digital-only consoles. For console gamers, it’s nothing new that prices are tied to the manufacturer’s store. That’s just how the system works. However, for those who own a PS5 without an optical drive, buying digital-only content is the only option — and they’re forced to pay whatever price is listed.
“These digital-only consoles only work with digital games instead of physical discs. Yet economic studies have shown that consumers pay, on average, 47% more for these digital versions than for the same game on disc, even though Sony’s distribution costs are lower. The fact that Sony dares to raise prices by tens of percent without offering compensation says a lot. Sony is the only provider of digital content for the world’s most popular game console. Over 80% of Dutch households have a gaming console, and over 80% of those are PlayStations. Sony can now make decisions without worrying too much about what competitors, developers, or consumers do,” said Lucia Melcherts, chair of the Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation.
The case is expected to be heard later this year. Sony is no stranger to lawsuits related to games or hardware. A separate class action is already underway in the United Kingdom, which will go to court in March 2026 after Sony failed to have it dismissed. That lawsuit involves an even greater amount of money — $7.9 billion in damages.
Sony’s allegedly monopolistic business practices raise similar issues, and if the Dutch case moves forward, it could shed light on the legal challenges Sony might face in UK courts as well.
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