The Dutch consumer rights organization Stichting Consumenten Competition Claims (CCC) has filed a claim against Valve, demanding more than €220 million in compensation. The group accuses the company of abusing its dominant position in the PC gaming market, which has allegedly forced players to overpay for years.
As part of the GameClaim campaign, the rights advocates state that Valve controls around 85% of the PC game distribution market. According to CCC, the company uses internal rules to prevent developers and publishers from setting lower prices in other competing digital stores.
The main target of the allegations is the long-standing revenue-sharing model, under which Steam takes a 30% commission from sales. The claimants argue that this fee is excessive and ultimately increases the final price of games for consumers.
According to CCC estimates, over the past decade the total losses for Dutch gamers have exceeded €220 million, which is roughly €130 per Dutch Steam account. At this stage, the organization is calling on Valve to enter negotiations for an amicable settlement before the case proceeds to court.
Valve firmly rejects the accusations of monopolistic behavior. The company maintains that Steam’s market leadership is solely the result of its reliability, broad feature set, and strong user experience. However, this lawsuit is part of broader legal pressure on Valve, as the company is already facing similar antitrust challenges in other countries around the world.
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