Sony is set to pay out nearly 8 million dollars to PlayStation customers under a settlement in a class action over digital game prices, GameSpot reported on September 1, citing IGN. The settlement follows the denial of Sony's motion to dismiss the case, and class members across a period of more than four years are potentially eligible for a payment.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2024. It alleged that Sony had established a monopoly over PlayStation Store prices by making publishers, in the complaint's words, cede control over the final price to Sony.
eliminated the last vestiges of price competition when it stopped allowing outside retailers to sell digital download codes that could be redeemed on the PlayStation Store
Who is covered
Eligibility turns on when and where a game was bought. A customer is potentially eligible for a payout if they purchased one of the affected games through the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023.
The affected titles are not limited to a handful of releases. Dozens of games are listed in the official court documents, GameSpot reported, among them Nier: Automata, Resident Evil 4 and The Last of Us Remastered. The list also reaches back to PlayStation Vita software, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Killzone: Mercenary.
Sony is not agreeing to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, and will avoid a civil trial if the court accepts the terms. Once that happens, GameSpot reported, the claims against Sony will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning another lawsuit on the subject cannot be filed.