Following the lawsuit filed in the Netherlands, here comes the next one—but this time, it’s from overseas.

Sony shocked the gaming industry by announcing it would stop producing its own discs in 2028. Gamers and developers reacted strongly, and even politicians joined forces to voice their concerns about a potential monopoly. Mexican lawmakers Iraís Reyes and Luis Donaldo Colosio are preparing to file an antitrust complaint with Mexico’s national competition authority. They are concerned that the PlayStation Store is becoming a monopoly.

The lawmakers are asking the authorities to investigate whether Sony is exploiting its market position to become the exclusive distributor of games on the PlayStation Store, thereby harming both consumers and competing businesses. According to Reyes, Sony would be both judge and player within its own ecosystem. We know what can happen when a single company controls every part of the market. Competitor retailers would no longer sell new PlayStation 5 games. There are also concerns that Sony’s controversial move could lead to the disappearance of the used game and resale markets. Players would lose actual ownership of the games because digital purchases only grant a license to use the products they own.

Lawmakers cite previous examples, such as Sony’s 2022 removal of content purchased by European users and its recent announcement to remove more than 500 movies and TV series, even though users had purchased them. The complaint also points out that Sony assumes everyone has high-speed internet access to use its digital offerings, which is not the case in Mexico and other developing countries. This would affect game developers, publishers, and studios worldwide.

They will be forced to rely on the PlayStation digital infrastructure and pay its commissions. To reach PlayStation users, they must comply with all of Sony’s commercial terms and give up all physical retail channels.

Source: Tech4gamers, LevelUp