A class action lawsuit against unfair PlayStation Store prices has been granted the court’s legal order to proceed.
The lawsuit in question against unfair PlayStation Store prices was filed in the UK back in November, 2023. As per the lawsuit, Sony Interactive Entertainment abused its dominant position by requiring digital games and add-ons to be bought and sold only via the PlayStation Store at unfair prices, which charges a 30% commission to developers and publishers.
Since then, the lawsuit has received permission from the court to proceed with the Collective Proceedings Order (CPO). The 90,000 or so people who were a part of the collective claim have until April 25, 2024 to opt-in or opt-out from CPO. As per the legal notice issued at the direction of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, all PlayStation users who, between the period of August 19, 2016 and August 19, 2022, made any purchase of digital games or add-on content via the PlayStation Store in the UK may benefit from this proposed claim.
Should the collective claim proceed, it may lead to further issues for Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is struggling with profitability. In its consolidated financial results for the Third Quarter Ended December 31, 2023, Sony Group had revealed that it has no major price cut or first party title planned for PS5 in the Fiscal Year ending March, 2025. The company expects a gradual decline in PS5 hardware unit sales as well as a decrease in software sales, with no plan for release of major first party franchise titles during this period.
Regarding the possibility of a price cut for PS5, Sony Group stated that a drastic cut on price similar to what the company did with PS4 is difficult, as room to cut on production cost for PS5 is limited in comparison to PS4. Additionally, Sony Group expects a slight decrease in first party software profit.
