Collective action against abuse of dominance by PC gaming platform Steam

Dutch PC gamers have overpaid for games and in-game content for years

Utrecht, 11 June 2026  – The Dutch foundation Consumer Competition Claims has launched a collective action against the American technology company Valve Corporation, operator of the popular PC gaming platform Steam. The collective action, called GameClaim, opposes the illegal, anti-competitive practices that have led to higher prices for PC games and limited consumer choice across the entire PC gaming market. The foundation has sent a letter to Valve holding it liable.

Abuse of dominance
Steam is the dominant global distribution platform for PC games, with a market share of 85% and over 1 billion accounts, including more than 2 million Dutch users. 

According to the foundation, Valve is abusing its dominant position and restricting competition, resulting in gamers paying too much for their games on Steam and elsewhere. Valve systematically excludes competition by prohibiting game publishers from offering their games at lower prices on other platforms. It also charges excessive prices: Valve demands a commission of up to 30% on most sales via Steam — notably higher than on competing platforms. The combination of restrictions and excessive prices causes game prices to rise, not only on Steam, but also on competing platforms such as Epic Games and the Microsoft Store, which charge significantly lower commission rates of around 12%. Valve also effectively forces consumers to use its own payment service for in-game purchases, for which it also charges excessive fees. 

Valve’s unlawful strategy results in extreme profitability, a matter on which the company is very secretive. In 2024, an internal email was leaked, revealing that Valve’s profit per employee is higher than of tech giants such as Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. In 2021, Valve generated a profit of $1.3 billion through Steam, on revenue of $2 billion.

Damage to Dutch consumers
Due to restrictions on competition, PC gamers pay more for their games than necessary, despite the discounts that Steam sometimes offers to consumers.

The economic consultancy firm Copenhagen Economics has calculated the damages for the foundation, and the initial estimate is that Dutch consumers have, as a result of Valve’s practices, collectively overpaid by more than 220 million euros for PC games and game content. For Dutch Steam users this amounts to, on average, more than 130 euros (including interest), and much more for avid gamers.

Registering for compensation of damages
The foundation is calling on Dutch PC gamers to register via www.gameclaim.nl to support the collective action. The foundation aims to secure compensation for the losses suffered by these gamers.

Focus on gamers
The foundation sees that part of the gaming community is loyal to Steam. “Steam is user-friendly and has good customer service. That is important, but it must not come at the expense of consumers in other ways. Gamers are unaware of the damage they are unwittingly suffering as a result of Valve’s practices. Healthy competition leads to lower prices and freedom of choice. That is precisely what is missing here, and what we want to rectify,” says Ariënne Gommers, board member of the foundation.

Previous sanctions and international proceedings
Similar legal proceedings are already underway against Valve in other countries. In the United States, claims for damages brought by consumers and game developers are pending, whilst a collective action lawsuit against Valve in the United Kingdom has been given the green light by the court to proceed. Last year, a UK court ruled in a case against another tech platform: Apple was ordered to compensate UK consumers £1.5 billion due to excessive 30% commissions in the Apple App Store.  

Valve was previously fined by the European Commission in 2021 for restricting cross-border sales within the European Union through geo-blocking. This fine has been upheld by the General Court of the European Union.

Collective action in the Netherlands
“The foundation will, of course, attempt to reach a solution in consultation with Valve,” says Bert Heikens, chairman of the foundation. “Should that prove unsuccessful, it will launch a court case on behalf of all Dutch PC gamers who have purchased games or in-game content on Steam or through other channels.” 

About the foundation
The Consumer Competition Claims Foundation is an independent and non-profit organisation. It is committed to protecting consumers against unfair commercial practices and breaches of consumer and competition law.

The foundation has previously (in collaboration with the Consumentenbond (the Dutch Consumers’ Association)) launched campaigns against Booking.com, Samsung and LG, the six largest energy suppliers, and various providers of online gambling, including Holland Casino.

Consumers suffer harm as a result of unfair commercial practices by large companies, for instance because of cartels or the abuse of dominant market positions. It is virtually impossible for individual consumers to take a stand against these companies, since taking legal action requires a great deal of time, money and expertise. The foundation resolves this problem by pooling consumers’ interests and representing groups of people. The foundation has the expertise required to take action. https://nl.consumercompetitionclaims.com/