Valve Inc. finds another lawsuit at its desk as a putative class action earlier this week alleges that the video game giant is abusing Steam by requiring developers to sell their games for the same price on all platforms once it enters the store from the PC game distributor.
The lawsuit, discovered by The Hollywood Reporter and conducted by lawyers at Ohio-based Vorys Sater law firm, states that Valve’s “Most Favored Nations” clause in its Steam Distribution Agreement forces developers to agree that “the price of a PC game on the Steam platform will have the same price as game developers sell their PC games on other platforms. “Lawyers note that Valve is abusing the MFN clause, making it difficult for other platforms – like the Epic Games Store , itch.io and Microsoft Store – compete with Steam.
“Steam MFN also hinders innovation by creating an artificial barrier for entry to platforms,” says the process. “When a market like this is highly concentrated, a new entrant can benefit consumers by lowering competitor’s prices. The ability to provide PC games to consumers at lower prices is a way for a company or a new competitor to gain market share. If this market were to function properly – that is, if Steam MFN did not exist and platforms were able to compete in price – platforms that compete with Steam would be able to provide the same (or greater) margins to game developers, by while providing lower prices to consumers. “
The focus of the process is centered on game developers and consumers, as Valve’s Steam is the “dominant platform for developers to distribute and sell PC games” to people. Because of Steam’s ubiquity, lawyers are seeking to disrupt Steam’s market control to make the distribution and sale of PC games more fair to manufacturers and players.
This lawsuit comes not long after Valve Inc. was accused of stealing a patent that the company ended up implementing on its now-discontinued Steam controller.
