You Might Benefit from a $7.85 Million Payout as PlayStation Settles Anti-Trust Lawsuit

Great for US players, rest of the world can go and kick rocks?

@Oram77 Feel free to sue Sony and get your bag!

It’s interesting Apple, google etc have all been forced to allow third party stores or links to purchase elsewhere yet Sony has somehow managed to dodge that bullet so far.

I think it’s only a matter of time before the EU will make them follow suit and open up for competition.

@Oram77 We are the greatest country in the world 🤷‍♂️

@Oram77 'Sony shut off the ability to get digital vouchers for PlayStation software at alternative retailers.'

we can get digital credit for the PS store from third parties so we don't have a reason to sue. Isn't that what this is about?

Edit: no

@AdamNovice Considering I'm automatically in the Settlement Class and don't need to do anything at all except receive the money if the settlement is approved, doesn't really seem like a waste of time to me.

So the 30M+ US users get to split the $7.8M while Sony get to continue not offering any other way to buy games. The sum of this settlement is a joke.

What will you do with your 30 cent cut?

@Dodoo Yeah I think you are right about the EU stepping in, especially after they bullied Apple into changing their charging cables.

@Dodoo I mean Capcom gives you a link to purchase their games at the Playstation store.. So you got different ways to get to the playstation store 😂😂😂😂

I ask this..

IF YOU OWNED A STORE that Sold games, would you want YOUR COUSINS Store to sell your games and you take 5 or 10% of the sale. You wouldnt, so why you so worried about how Sony does there business?

Nintendo Switch has the same NINTENDO E-Shop and nobody cares or complains..

@Oram77 There is a £2B UK class action too, I think it ended a few months ago but who knows how long it will take for a decision

@Stonecold730 If I owned a store that sold games, I didn’t make the vast majority of the games being sold. Therefore, I didn’t have any say in which other stores the manufacturers were selling them in.

@BonezKnowz Oh wow, I never heard about that, was it for the same reasons or something else?

@Oram77 agreed it can only be a matter of time surely...

@Stonecold730 haha true thanks Capcom for the options!

I'm not worried about how Sony run their business but having multiple storefronts creates competition = lower prices = good for the consumer. As it stands they have a monopoly and therefore no competition.

@Oram77 https://playstationyouoweus.co.uk/

@Stonecold730 I hate agreeing with @nessisonett, but he's right on this. This is more about restricting where vendors are allowed to sell stuff, rather than where customers can buy it. Sony is effectively telling publishers that if they want to sell the PS5 version of their game, they must sell it through the PSN.

A payout, that's it?

No having to change their monopoly walled garden ways?

$7.85 is probably a drop in the ocean of the profits they make from the practice.

Doubt it will change anything really.

@Stonecold730 What a dumb comment. It hasn't been looking so great the past year or so. Give it a couple more years and it looks like it is going to be even worse.

Did a quick search of this to see if it's happening in the UK and it turns out our court case is even more comprehensive. Here's the copy and paste of the info:

Sony controls the PlayStation digital distribution system. Developers and publishers wanting to sell digital

PlayStation games have, according to the claim, effectively been required to sell them through the PlayStation Store.

The same applies to most digital add-on content.

Sony allegedly charges developers/publishers a commission of around 30% on those sales.

Because there isn't an equivalent competing digital storefront on PlayStation, consumers allegedly have no alternative source from which to buy those digital games.
The claim therefore argues that Sony has used its dominant position to impose unfair/excessive prices, with the 30% commission ultimately contributing to consumers paying more.

The claim covers purchases of digital games and add-on content made through the PlayStation Store. The class was subsequently expanded to cover purchases made up to 12 February 2026.

The current estimate is about £2 billion including interest, with the current estimated compensation being roughly £137 per person, or £182 including interest. Those are estimates, not guaranteed payouts.

You don't have to individually sue Sony. It's an opt-out collective action, meaning qualifying UK consumers are represented automatically unless they opted out.

@Oram77 In the UK we have Shopto and Loaded and maybe some other outlets to purchase digital codes.

Unsure about the rest of the world.

Move that decimal point two places to the right and it still doesn’t come close to compensating for the disgusting, anti-consumer greed of these filthy executives and shareholders.

@Oram77 it'll amount to maybe $0.17 per account hahaha... forget about it

@TheDudeElDuderino you have to have bought one of the games first. It doesn't just go to every account. And then I guess it would scale depending on how many of those games you bought.

@Balaam_ you still buy PlayStation games?

@TDHorizon those digital codes are for currency only. You can't directly buy digital games from them for playstation. As a top tier member on shopto it's generally my go to for cheap games physical.

You can buy digital codes for Microsoft, pc and Nintendo but not playstation. These class action lawsuits are for that reason. Sony themselves have complete control over the digital sales on there platform and the developer has little to none. Not being able to buy a game from even the developer themself is the worst

@Oram77
Dutch mass claim attempt:
https://www.massaschadeconsument.nl/collectieve-acties/playstation/

When will us UK buyers get our update lol

I'm sure Sony will argue that by providing voucher codes to all 3rd party retailers (including loaded for up to 15% off RRP) that is is providing another means to get PS5 games.

They will have this remedied in early 2028 when they begin to provide digital codes like Xbox and Nintendo, but I can imagine there will be some settlements (not worth much to us per customer) by next year.

Please help me understand - what is the difference between this axed digital codes and current GTA6 style code-in-a-box containing digital download from both Sony and retail/publisher perspective? I'm unable to figure this out as I never used either.

@BeastfromtheEast @BacklogBrad @Dodoo
Starting January 2028, Sony will allow retailers to sell digital games, as per its announcement to cease disc production:

"Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only."

"We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store."

So, while it wasn't part of the lawsuit settlement, it is officially happening according to their announced plans.

Edit: formatting

@Kierant202 You know a lot of developers provide ways to purchase their games on thier own platform though right? like EA or Ubisoft as an example.

@TheDarts yeah, dude, it was well explained in the article. Thank you for taking an extra step. I was making a joke. I received multiple meaculpas from Sony before... they are often symbolic (a few days extra PSN, a few dollars back into psn wallet) and on rare occasion substantial (several months free psn, an extra game etc.)

Sony will just adjust the dynamic pricing to those that receive a payout to offset their loss. Duh.

@Oram77 I mean in fairness we can get discounted PSN credit so it didn't really apply to us anyway. At least in the Uk

so USA benefits UK & rest of the world can go suck one - good one - tho it could open the door to UK court action I guess

@TDHorizon That's not digital codes as you get on Xbox and PC, those are just for buying PlayStation store credit a bit cheaper, no where near a good as the prices you can get on Xbox/PC for buying Digital games and subscriptions from 3rd party's.
Sony also have any money you have left from those vouchers locked nicely into their store.

@Andy22385 it does apply to us and there is a lawsuit in progress here too.

@TheDarts I don't really understand how Because we can buy credit elsewhere than the PS store. I normally get it up to 25% off

Give me my Two dollars!

@Andy22385 read what I posted earlier to see what the issue is with what Sony is doing

People need to understand this is NOT about buying discounted credit from whatever country you are in, its about SONY removing the ability from 3rd Party vendors to directly buy digital games from their site meaning you can only buy directly from SONY at the price they want you to buy it at.. ie there is no competion.

Going to Shopto and buying discounted £20 wallet top up is not the same thing as going to Shopto and directly buying a whole digital game at a cheaper price from their store instead of using Sonys store, and thats what this and these other court cases are about, removal of choice and competition.

I hope we see lots more of these cases going forward, the pressure needs to be put on to regulate all digital storefronts and how people purchase items in an all digital future.

Yo! I am already part of class action suits for YouTube TV and State Farm. Add this to the list and by the time I am done getting my payouts I might have enough to not own a digital game on sale.

Sucks it would be a PSN credit payout and not a proper payout...

@Xaenur It's mostly logistics; the differences are:

Code in box must be transported to stores and then either picked up by, or shipped to customers. Digital codes are typically delivered via email.

Code in box takes up retail shelf/storage space.

Code in a box can double as physical advertising material.

Code in box has the added manufacturing cost of the physical packaging and printed materials.

For digital vouchers, there is likely an added IT cost related to the integration of the retailers systems with a third party service to obtain and distribute the codes.

Inventory risk - this one depends on the distribution agreement for digital codes between Sony and retailers. If retailers need to purchase digital inventory, then there is risk just like codes in boxes, but if the method is just-in-time fulfillment, then the retailers only pay for what they sell, so there is much less risk. But even if retailers pay in advance and hold digital inventory, there is still much lower risk in terms of theft or similar loss.

@Oram77
In the UK there is Alex Neill Class Representative Limited v Sony Interactive Entertainment.
It's a claim for £2bn, more info here:
https://www.catribunal.org.uk/cases/15277722-alex-neill-class-representative-limited

This does absolutely ***** all to affect Sony. That amount is a drop in the bucket. It needs to be a massive payout if you want them to think twice of being a monopoly. But of course, greed never fails.

@BonezKnowz
Sorry I didn't see your post initially, I also commented on the same UK £2bn claim.
I believe they are expecting a decision before the year is out but that may change.

Always used to buy third party titles on XSX as I could get far cheaper keys and pay less than the PS5 (or XSX) official store prices.

For the most part, I don't think keys should have geographical limitations either. Sure the actual game you download can be customised for the territory, but the key itself should be international.

We live in a globalised world, we as workers compete in a globalised market for work and pay, and we should damn well be able to buy our digital products globally too, instead of rip-off pricing in some territories.

If want to buy a key from Eastern Europe or the Asia-Pacific region, and it works out better for me after currency conversion costs, I should be able to.

@darylb24 no when you buy from Uvisoft the links to anything bar Ubisoft pc store link you directly to the site of the company. All Ubisoft games for playstation send you to buy it through playstation. Exactly the same for EA. Their stores just link you to the platform store

...about 3 fiddy

If the payout goes ahead, does Sony auto place funds in account as they know who purchased what games and when?

@Stonecold730
Have you traveled abroad?

@Snowrunner As someone who's lived and worked in multiple countries, it's shocking how many Americans haven't or ever will go outside the US and see the world

@BonezKnowz they've got everything they need right there. All types of terrain and landscapes found elsewhere on the planet. Artic, tundra, deserts, mountains, plains, forests, tropical...They barely need a passport.

@TheDarts Geographically that's true, but it's more about experiencing other cultures and people

@wildcat_kickz And as a consumer I dont have a problem with this, because I dont buy used products anyway. So the same price points you will find on the PS store eventually. For example I dont buy madden til its $29.99 (lately its been $34.99 on black friday) which for the most part will be the price that it would go on sale at Best Buy, Target, Wal-mart, Gamestop.. now its just at the PS Store.. I fail to see the argument.

Like its been stated before, the Game Publishers like Activision, RockStar, Capcom have all said they are 100% ok with the digital roll out.

The only video game store in the US is Gamestop who again buy your games for $5 and turn around and sell it in your face for $40 have said this digital roll out will not impact their business in the slightest...

I work at best buy get a discount on my games and I still exclusively buy my games from the PS Store because I cant stand having to walk over to my playstation to take out a disc to play another game.

I want to sit here and understand the outrage... but I remember vividly certain games i wanted to buy when I was younger and going to Electronic Boutique, Game Stop, mom and pop shops and the game being sold out. Since digital downloads NEVER had that problem..

Or heres a better one when RE:Requiem came out, my best buy didnt get a boatload of those games, we got like 5 the week it was released and those were all pre-orders, and then like 2-3 weeks later is when we had like 5-10 to put on the shelves.. In that time period i already finished the game.

Who the hell wants to be driving to a video game store to buy a game, to save the potential what $5-10 at best $20 when you paying $5 for a gallon of gas, whats the trade off a slight moral victory for not paying $69?

Truly dont understand ....

@BonezKnowz they're better travelled than we are. All they need to do is join the military.

@Snowrunner Why? I live in America, i can experience every culture here in NYC... if i go to any country with fresh air i might die my lungs wont be able to support it. 😂😂😂😂😂

@NxtDoc We'll always be the greatest we are currently experiencing 4 years of rain... but once the grey clouds clear its smooth sailing from here on out...

How much am I getting

@Stonecold730 I think there's some confusion, because my argument isn't about physical vs. digital goods at all.

This is about vendor choice to be able to sell your own product in multiple places, digitally or physically.

Let's use Remedy, who makes Alan Wake and Control, as an example:

Remedy is releasing Control Resonant on PS5 shortly, but right now, they're limited to selling the PS5 digital version exclusively through the PSN. What if they wanted to sell a digital copy through their own website or through Amazon or Walmart's website? Right now, they can't. What if they wanted to be part of Prime Day and sell a digital copy at a discount to take advantage of all the extra eyeballs on Amazon for that promotion? Sure, they could discount the digital version on the PSN, but it might not get the same traffic because Prime Day inherently drives tons of engagement. What if they just want more eyeballs on the product in general regardless of a sale? Why should Sony tell Remedy that they're prohibited from selling their own game through another store? As long as Sony still gets their contractual cut of every PS5 game sold, it shouldn't matter which storefront the sale came from.

I'm not even arguing for different storefronts to be on PlayStation. While that would be great for consumers in the short term, it would destroy PlayStation's business and we'd all lose in the end.

What I'm arguing is that vendors (developers and publishers) should be able to sell the PS5 version of their own games wherever they want and not be restricted to just selling the game through PlayStation directly. It allows vendors to get more eyeballs on their products and also opens up the potential for savings for customers, purely through increased choice and competition.

Just because you don't have any interest in buying games outside of the PSN doesn't mean you should be indifferent to the benefits it could provide.

@Oram77 You dont have US account to get advantage of the dollar and zero sales tax? Pfff

Look really bleak for the future of gaming special if you Playstation supporter

@BonezKnowz other peoples and cultures move here. my street alone has like 4 countries 😂

@wildcat_kickz

https://www.streetfighter.com/5/en-us/purchase/index.html

https://www.callofduty.com/playnow/modernwarfare4

I'm pretty sure these companies can discount the games on the PS store whenever they want....

Lets say the current Split between Capcom and Sony is 50/50... How do they benefit going to target, walmart, amazon

and having to go 40/40/20 with target, 40/40/20 with Walmart, and 40/40/20 with Amazon...

losing 20 percent for more eyes on the product doesnt guarantee sales, just a loss from companies trying to maximize their profits.

That doesnt even take into account the potential losses for shrinkage...

Don't forget every one you don't own any digital games any more after sony last update so in the future there won't be any payout like this

Won't say no to a free $20, which is about what we end up getting once the cash is split up.

@Northern_munkey of course he does, so long as the game got easy trophies, no online trophies, no soulslike elements, comes with a disc, comes with a chair massage, a fridge, a vacation to Hawaii and a signed copy from Mark Cerny himself.

@Yousef- ouch 😉

@nomither6 I get what you mean, it's a melting pot. But America also has a tendency to americanise everything, so just because you have Italian food there, it's Italian-American and is vastly different to experiencing authentic Italian cuisine for example

I have:
SABAN'S MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: MEGA BATTLE
Until Dawn
Journey

It's more than I thought I'd have.
I thought I'd have zero games from the list!

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Does this mean if we accept it, then the games we have get taken away?

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@Quintumply
please see comment #73

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@Stonecold730
We used to be, but ever since Kennedy was murdered, we've been bad. Not a single decent president since!

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@wildcat_kickz
See comment #73

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@Stonecold730
You can buy digital games from best buy, target, sams club, amazon, gamestop, ect... for Switch 1 & 2

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@For-Kier
I had state farm for over 10 years up to about 4 years ago.. what is the state farm one about?

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@BonezKnowz yeah, i know exactly what you mean. I was just messing with you 😛; i’d love to travel abroad, or even move.

@Stonecold730 Yes, the publishers determine the price at any given point and can discount them whenever they want. But that's beside my point. It should be up the vendor to determine how much money they want to make, but they should also get to determine where they make that money. The whole point is visibility and just because a company might make less money on any given sale doesn't mean they don't want to take that hit. People are making those calculations all the time. That's why discounts exist in the first place. If vendors didn't want to lose any money to third parties, then your employer wouldn't exist at all. The vendor necessarily makes less money by going through storefronts in exchange for visibility. That's the deal. But it should always be up to the vendor to chose where they sell their products.

@BacklogBrad I agree. You forgot the attorney fees. There won't be much left after the attorneys take their cut.

@Spider-Kev No, you'll keep any digital purchases you've made. If that weren't the case, I'd imagine you'd need to opt in to the settlement class, rather than opt out.

Cannot wait to get my $3.

@Dman10
All lawyer fees should be paid by the losing side and not out of the settlement! I say this as a former litigation assistant.

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So, physical disc buyers are being shafted once again - they'll get nothing from this settlement! Oh, why won't anyone think of the physical disc buyers! Maybe they could try a boycott or something?

@BonezKnowz I didnt know it was 2bn gbp. I was also here to ask if anyone knew qhat was happening with that as I want my theoretical monies 🤣

Honestly I didnt sign up for anything, so if the UK and this one works, any win is a win, even if its just a tick for consumer law.

@ecurb7
Only some games do I buy digital. Those are ones that will have license expire, only digital or super deep sale

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@Stonecold730 Nintendo is still selling physical games at other retailers and you also have the option of buying downloadable codes for digital games at other retailers as well outside of the e-shop.

@JuiceboxMeister idk why people are coming up with the monopoly idea , when in their announcement they included retailers , pretty much meaning they'll let them sell digital codes again like they used to.

I bought a few of these during that window, would be nice to get some free money.

I bought several games during that timeframe but nothing from that list! It’s a lot of PS3 games. I wonder why only those.

Also, I had to chuckle at this statement: "reasonable consumers understand they don't own a game they buy.”

😂 I think they are giving people more credit than they are due.

I'll be eagerly awaiting my $0.79 in store credit.

@Stonecold730 I see your point (on comment #57) about convenience and time being as valuable (or moreso) than money, but as someone who buys some games physically (occasionally at Best Buy!) I guess my thought is, I simply like having the option. Maybe I have a Best Buy gift card. Maybe I just want to browse and make an impulse buy for some retail therapy.

Furthermore, for people who pick up a copy of RE Requiem 2 weeks later because of it being sold out, and spending $5 on gas to drive around searching for it, it diminishes nothing from those who just buy it digitally. It doesn’t harm you, hurt you, or take away from your experience if they do it that way. You lose nothing if physical discs are still available. However, what you gain is competitive pricing for your digital games which have to compete with the physical market.

That’s really interesting though that your Best Buy is so restrictive with disc orders and it does underscore how the deck is stacked against showing the true demand for physical media. It’s part of why Sony has miscalculated how popular having a physical option is, the sales numbers don’t tell the whole story. It’s one thing to announce “only 5 copies of RE Requiem were sold in the first week at our store” which sounds awful, but it hides the fact they only 5 copies were available. 😂. It probably could have sold many more (dozens? hundreds?) if they had the stock. I know they order stock based on projected demand, but 5 copies? Surely that is a large under supply.

If they loose some trials, there will be more.
Precedent or whatever. Meanwhile, it’s a pity the EU Parliament isn’t involved. Some simple regulations and requirements and Sony would quickly change some course.

How is this any different than the App Store on the iPhone and the Google play store on android? This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. PlayStation is not required to have any discs for sale or to have their digital licenses for sale at physical retailers. It’s their ecosystem and their store and they can run it how they choose. This is coming from someone who doesn’t really like Sony or PlayStation, but has them only for exclusive games.

I can't get any credit since I don't buy digital games 😭

@Spider-Kev I don't know what's the state farm thing is about but I'm taking the $28 and $51 check they are sending me. I don't know why it's two checks instead of one bigger one. I will take any funds Sony want to add to my account.

Slap on the wrist for the shady suits and ties at PS. Wish it was way more. At this price they will learn nothing and continue to do similar tactics. I so want the PS6 to be Sony’s Wii U moment to humble them again.

They should never have settled because this is a slam dunk winner of a case. Sony know that hence the payoff. Either way the European Union will be going after them soon enough.

@HonestHick The ps6 will have huge headwinds. Pricing, discless, Sonys continuous drive into live service. I think a large chuck of players will be going to Xbox and a lot will just go to pc. Also the ps6 will be largely pointless as it will likely be cross generation for most of its life.

85-90% of sony game sales are digital these days the ps6 will be a success depending on sales price that is what matters the most diskless is a minor issue..

You couldn't pay me to live in the US, anyway I can't imagine it will be that much for most people. Wouldn't it be decided by how many digital purchases you have made? Only people with money already will get a significant amount as they would be the only ones that have been able to afford to buy an amount of games in the time frame that counts? I don't know but it doesn't sound like much to me.

@johnedwin those numbers aren’t true. Most Sony exclusives and aaa games are about 30-40% disc sales. Keep believing the Sony lies though.

@Boxmonkey it is true since most sony games are third party these days 85-90% sales are digital..

That's a strange list, many can be bought on disc (I own a bunch of them this way, with others being PS Plus games). Even more strange is not all of them are exclusives... Only one I could see at a quick glance that was Sony and Digital only was Festival of Blood and that game's pretty old now.

So anyone who qualifies will probably only get a dollar or two.

@Kierant202 Thanks for clarifying. it looks like Sony will be providing digital codes to 3rd party retailers from Jan 2028 (as per thier going fully digital statement)