UK CAT certifies £656 million Steam claim backed by Bench Walk

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has certified a £656 million opt-out collective action against Valve Corporation, brought by children’s digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt, funded by Bench Walk Advisors, and led by Milberg London LLP with counsel Julian Gregory and Will Perry of Monckton Chambers.

In approving the claim, the Tribunal cleared the way for proceedings on behalf of an estimated 14 million UK consumers who purchased PC games or downloadable content between June 2018 and June 2024, finding the case met the statutory test for collective treatment despite heightened scrutiny of opt-out actions following recent Supreme Court authority. The claim alleges Valve abused a dominant position in the PC gaming market by imposing excessive commissions and restrictive terms on developers using its Steam platform, with those costs allegedly passed through to consumers in higher prices across the wider PC games market.

Natasha Pearman, the partner leading the litigation and head of competition litigation at Milberg London, said the certification decision marked an important inflection point for the case. “We’re delighted that the Tribunal has granted certification of Vicki’s claim and the acknowledgment that this is a ‘paradigm’ example of an opt-out collective action,” she said, adding that the judgment provided clarity on securing competitive funding terms and applying the Pro-Sys test in UK collective proceedings.

The Tribunal emphasised that the alleged conduct affected a large class of consumers while individual losses were too small to justify standalone litigation. On that basis, consumers falling within the defined class will be automatically included unless they choose to opt out.