Everyone knows that playing games can be an expensive hobby. It all starts with buying a console or a PC, which will set you back a couple hundred pounds. When everything is installed, you can start playing! But to be able to play you must also have some games. Nowadays you don’t have to go to the physical game store to buy your games anymore! On both PlayStation and Xbox, you have a digital store where you can buy nearly all games that are released for your console. However, most of the biggest titles will cost somewhere between £65 and £100.
If you are an average gamer, you know that it won’t stop at the price of the game itself. For online games, there are often in-game stores where you can spend real money to purchase skins, other cosmetics and even some boosts for certain games. These so-called “micro-transactions” are the type of transactions that keep games like Call Of Duty Warzone “free” to play!
Why is Playstation specifically being sued?
The developers and game publishers who want their titles on the Playstation network, have to give around 30% of each transaction that the player makes in their game. The developers want to make money, so instead of keeping the price low, and losing a bit of profit margin, they raise the price to cover the 30% of these transactions!
The lawyer, who filed the lawsuit in 2022, claimed that people had to spend more money than they should for these games and the additional content. However, Sony wasn’t just going to take this and apologise. In their counterclaims, the corporate lawyers mentioned that it was a flawed case. However, in 2023 they got the green light to take this lawsuit further and the appeal of Sony was dismissed!
You Can Get Your Money Back
Since the lawyer is representing all UK customers who meet certain criteria, even you can receive part of the claim! To be eligible you must:
- Own a console since 19th of August 2016
- Live in the UK
- Bought digital Playstation games
- Bought stuff in-game through the PlayStation store
If you meet all of these, you’ll be automatically eligible for the payout of the claim. And if there is a ruling in favour of the consumer you will receive this money! The payout could be as high as 67£, which would give you the ability to purchase another game! However, these lawsuits can take years to be settled, so don’t expect your money any time soon.
