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Gamers hit the jackpot.
Eligible PlayStation users will soon see payments — in the form of store credit — from a $7.85 million settlement. Sony — parent company of PlayStation — is accused of violating federal antitrust law and certain state laws.
Sony is being accused of anticompetitive conduct by monopolizing the PlayStation digital game market, driving up the cost of games and causing consumers to pay more. Because the company was allegedly limiting the sale of digital games on other marketplaces, customers were then forced to buy at a PlayStation Store.
Some of these popular games include exclusive PlayStation titles like The Last of Us, as well as third-party games, like Mass Effect Trilogy and Resident Evil 4.
The class-action lawsuit, Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment, alleges that this behavior violates antitrust laws, as it forces PlayStation customers to buy from a single storefront and at a higher price.
Consumers who qualify for the store credit will see the money in their PlayStation Network wallet, after the final approval hearing on October 15, 2026.
To be considered eligible, consumers must have purchased a game through the PlayStation store between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023. All eligible members should have received a notice in the mail.
The payment is for those who purchased a digital game through the PlayStation Store during the time period after Sony stopped its sales of game-specific vouchers for alternative online storefronts.
You must meet the following qualifications to join the settlement:
- Be a living individual in the US or its territories.
- Have purchased one of the eligible digital games (PDF) through the PlayStation Store between the period of April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023.
Sony has denied any wrongdoing, but has agreed to settle the claims.
Payment amounts have not been announced for each eligible member, but each person will automatically receive the compensation. Up to a quarter of the $7.85 million settlement will be used to pay attorneys’ fees, taxes and other administrative costs.
The remaining settlement money will be equally distributed to each settlement class member who will likely see a couple of dollars added to their PlayStation accounts.
Gamers who have since deactivated their PlayStation Network accounts may still apply for the settlement payment by sending all of their qualifying purchase information to the email address [email protected].
These folks will receive cash payments instead of store credit.
The lawsuit does not claim that the PlayStation digital games are defective.
