PS5 disc-free plan sets off $457M lawsuit that certain users could claim part of
PlayStation's decision to eliminate physical games in the next few years could come back to bite the company, as a consumer group has launched a new lawsuit worth $457 million that might give players compensation following the announcement.
Brought forward by Stichting Massaschade & Consument, a Dutch consumer group, the lawsuit claims that the existing 30% commission on all sales made through the PlayStation store could lead to an inflation of game prices once the digital-only future is locked in.
It's far from the only place that Sony has faced backlash following its incredibly controversial announcement, with over 300,000 gamers now supporting a new petition calling for the move to be reversed.
With Sony now revealing plans to repurpose its primary disc production factory into one that makes optical microlenses, the prospect of a u-turn appears increasingly unlikely, making the prospect of lawsuits an attractive one for many gamers.
Who could gain financially from the lawsuit?
While the announcement of a $457 million lawsuit has caught the attention of many PlayStation fans across the world, this specific legal challenge has been raised solely on behalf of roughly 1.7 million gamers in the Netherlands.
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Presumably this would mean that any potential monetary compensation off the back of this lawsuit's success would only go to Dutch PlayStation owners, splitting the total figure up between them at what would be $268 per claimant if it was shared equally.
There's technically nothing stopping claims from gamers in other countries from emerging, especially as PlayStation's decision to kill of physical games has impacted its audience across the globe, yet this specific legal challenge only impacts a small subsection of those who are likely angry about the change.
Why PlayStation's antitrust defense is weaker now
As reported by Fortune, Sony has already faced pressure from antitrust claims relating to its closed digital marketplace, and the decision to make this the only way gamers can access new titles after January 2028 could have significantly weakened their legal defense.
The aforementioned 30% tax that's at the heart of the Dutch lawsuit only applies to digital purchases made through the PlayStation Store, with physical retailers paying Sony a flat royalty fee that's generally far lower than the digital stake, and this obviously doesn't apply when the game is resold on the second hand market — something that's being eliminated completely with the shift to digital-only.
Without any competition from physical or resale markets, however, Sony might struggle to argue against its store being a monopoly, with video game demand expert Andrew Ching arguing that Sony "essentially destroys its own defense."
Unlike PC – which has a digital-only marketplace but with many options for consumers to choose from – gamers will soon only have the option to buy games from Sony directly, with the gaming giant the only one setting the price that budget-conscious consumers left with no other option.