Sony is being sued for £2 billion in a class action lawsuit that claims UK users were being overcharged for games purchased on the PlayStation Store in a targeted challenge on the tech giant’s market dominance.

The case will represent about 12.2 million gamers across the UK, and alleges that Sony charged players “excessive and unfair” prices for games downloaded on the PlayStation Store.

The suit hinges on what the claimants describe as Sony’s “closed ecosystem.” The firm’s PS5 console comes in various models, the cheapest of which does not have a disc drive. While most purchases of games are now digital, the standard PS5 model has a disc drive, allowing the option of physical media which can be purchased from any vendor.

PlayStation models that only offer digital access to games do not allow other games stores, meaning that PS5 users can only purchase games for some PS5 models from the PlayStation Store.

Developers and publishers are charged a 30% commission on digital purchases in order to sell their games on the PlayStation Store, which the lawsuit claims is then passed on to consumers, unfairly raising prices.

Digital users were described as an “entirely captive class” due to the firm’s “close ecosystem”, according to Robert Palmer KC, who represents the claimants.

The suit, set to be heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal next week, will be filed on an “opt-out” basis, meaning that those impacted will automatically benefit upon success of the suit unless they opt out of the claim.

This means that anyone who purchased a PlayStation game on the digital store or bought an in-game download across a near-decade period up to February 2026 would benefit if the suit is successful.

The estimated 12.2 million users would win £162 each – about £2 billion in total – which accounts for the amount they were overcharged as well as 8% in interest.

However, Sony is pushing back against the claims that it is abusing its market position, saying that allowing alternative digital stores would bring privacy and security risks to its users.

Sony also argues that, considering its hefty investment in hardware, its consoles are sold at a lower margin, and digital sales commissions are vital in subsidising these lower console prices. PS5s currently range from about £440 to £700 for the more expensive model.

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Recently, Valve faced a similar suit over its digital games store Steam, alleging that the firm abuses its dominant market position to lock in users and publishers into unfair contracts and purchases.

Gaming and app stores are rife with competition concerns, as Apple was recently found by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to be abusing its market dominance on the App Store, charging developers commissions and not allowing rival app stores on Apple devices.