How to get your cut of PlayStation’s $7.85 million settlement
Sony is set to distribute PlayStation Store credit to more than 4.4 million eligible US PlayStation Network accounts to settle a $7.85 million antitrust class action, with no claim form required as affected accounts were enrolled automatically. The lawsuit, first filed in 2021, alleged that Sony breached the Sherman Act by ending retail download vouchers for digital games in April 2019, removing price competition and effectively giving its own storefront a monopoly. The payout matters as a rare instance of a major platform holder facing financial consequences for anticompetitive digital storefront practices, though the settlement still requires final court approval before any credit is issued.
Eligibility covers digital games bought between April 2019 and December 2023 that previously had retail vouchers with at least 200 redemptions and a subsequent price rise of 50 cents or more, including titles such as The Last of Us Remastered, Bloodborne and No Man's Sky. After legal fees of up to 25%, plaintiff service awards and administration costs are deducted, roughly $5.89 million will remain to be shared, with lead counsel estimating individual payouts of between $0.91 and $33.66 per account. A fairness hearing before Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in San Francisco is scheduled for 15 October, and no credit will be paid until final approval is granted and any appeals are resolved.
- Sony to pay $7.85m settlement over ending retail PlayStation game vouchers
- 4.4m+ accounts automatically enrolled; no claim form needed
- Payouts likely $1–$34 in store credit, pending 15 October court approval
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Sony Interactive Entertainment is settling an American antitrust lawsuit over how it sold digital games on PlayStation. The case centred on Sony's decision in April 2019 to stop honouring retail vouchers that had let people buy digital game codes more cheaply through third-party shops, rather than only through Sony's own PlayStation Store. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, argued this removed competition on price and strengthened Sony's control over digital game sales.
Under the proposed settlement, Sony has agreed to pay $7.85 million, with the money going out as PlayStation Store credit rather than cash. More than 4.4 million PlayStation Network accounts in the US have already been identified as eligible, based on games they bought during the affected period, and will receive credit automatically without needing to submit a claim.
The case is significant because it is one of the few instances where a major games platform has faced financial consequences over how it runs its digital storefront, a topic that has drawn wider scrutiny across the games and tech industries. The settlement has not yet been finalised, as a US federal judge still needs to approve it before any credit is issued.