More than two million Dutch people who bought PC games via gaming site Steam paid an average of 130 euros too much. This is stated by a foundation that is launching a mass claim against the parent company. That group would prohibit developers from offering games cheaper elsewhere.
Anyone who looks at the well-known gaming platform Steam will be overwhelmed by an avalanche of discounts. Popular games like Resident Evil 4 or Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition sometimes go for around 70 percent discount over the digital counter.
Yet: appearances can be deceiving, according to the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation. The foundation will start a mass claim against parent company Valve on Thursday, because customers consistently pay too much money for both games and purchases within those games. The company would charge developers commissions of up to 30 percent.
‘Monopolistic prices’
“Developers are not allowed to offer their Valve games cheaper on other platforms,” explains Stefan Tuinenga, who is involved in the case as a lawyer. “Steam has an estimated market share of 85 percent, so if you develop games you must be active on that platform. This allows Steam to charge monopolistic prices.”
Steam can have monopolistic prices
There are plenty of other platforms: from Epic Games to GOG and Microsoft’s gaming platform. “They offer developers lower commissions, but do not intervene,” says Tuinenga. “Due to Steam’s policy, developers have to offer their games more expensively there.”
130 euros per victim
According to the foundation, Dutch customers have been duped for more than ‘220 million euros’. According to the foundation, Steam has more than two million Dutch customers, who can claim an average of 130 euros. “But for avid gamers the amount can run into hundreds of euros,” says board member Roelof Prins.
Customers can join the claim, which will be called GameClaim. The foundation first hopes to reach a settlement with Valve before it finally goes to court. According to the organization, such a case can easily take three to five years.
Not the first case against Valve
It is not the first time that Steam parent company Valve has come under legal attack. In the United Kingdom, a mass claim of 756 million euros is pending against the company due to its alleged market dominance. The mass claim may continue, the authorities determined at the beginning of this year. “Valve pays those fines with a smile,” says Prins.
The company pays millions in fines while laughing
The company was fined 1.6 million euros in Europe in 2021, because customers could not always play purchased games at their location.
Developers angry
In the United States, Valve is being sued by game developers for establishing an illegal monopoly. More than seven in ten American and British game developers see Steam as a monopolistic platform, a 2025 survey showed.
Co-founder and president Gabe Newell seems to deny that. “Valve has no policy or practice of imposing prices on third-party software developers on other platforms,” he said in court, according to Bloomberg news agency. The company could not be reached for comment before this site.
According to lawyer Tuinenga, there is evidence from the US that shows that Valve is indeed putting pressure on game suppliers. “If they do not comply, they will first receive a warning. After that, their games will be removed from the platform or they will become less visible.”
Billionaire buys yachts
Newell himself is doing well with Valve. The company, which also makes games, had a turnover of more than $5 billion last year, according to analysts. The profit would be $1.5 billion.
Newell’s net worth is reported by business magazine Forbes estimated at $11 billion. Last year he bought one 111 meter long superyachtincluding a gaming lounge with fifteen gaming stations. “It is already his sixth hunt, while teenagers pay tens of euros too much for their games,” says Prins. “That’s a problem.”
LISTEN ALSO to our daily news podcast Join the conversation with AD
WATCH ALSO to our economy videos: