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Another day, another class-action settlement. This time it's Sony, which may have to pay $7.85 million to gamers who accused the company of anti-competitive practices on its PlayStation Store.
The 2021 lawsuit focuses on game-specific vouchers (GSVs) that Sony allowed third-party retailers, including Best Buy, GameStop, and Amazon, to sell from 2006 to 2019. Per the complaint, after Sony discontinued the sale of GSVs in 2019, it raised the prices of digital games on its PlayStation Store, forcing consumers to pay more than they would have.
This was “anticompetitive conduct designed to monopolize the PlayStation digital game market,” according to the complaint. In late 2024, Sony agreed to settle the case by paying $7.85 million to consumers, and last week, a federal court granted preliminary approval of the settlement.
The refund will be issued only after a hearing on Oct. 15. If approved, a portion of the refund will be issued to customers who bought one or more games from the PlayStation Store using GSVs between April 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2023.
The refund applies to over 100 games that had more than 200 voucher redemptions and saw a price increase of more than 50 cents after April 2019. The list includes popular titles like NBA 2K18, FIFA 17, Resident Evil 4, and Call of Duty Classic.
How to Get a Cut of the Settlement
If you’re part of the class, you don’t have to fill out a claim form. Sony “will directly distribute the Settlement Amount, minus court-approved attorneys’ fees, costs, expenses, and/or service awards, to the PlayStation Network ('PSN') account wallets,” the settlement notice reads.
That said, if you've deactivated your PlayStation account (or maybe had it stolen), you'll need to reach out to the settlement administrator and provide qualifying purchase information as well as a current address by Aug. 27, 2026, to get your money. You can:
- Call (877) 777-9145
- Email info@PSNDigitalGamesSettlement.com
- Mail to PSN Digital Game Settlement, P.O. Box 173046, Milwaukee, WI 53217
If you want to exclude yourself from the settlement and reserve the right to sue Sony individually, you must opt out by July 2, 2026. Details can be found on this site.
Per the lawsuit, over 4.4 million users are eligible for the refund, so don’t expect more than a couple of dollars after lawyer fees. Sony is fighting a similar case in the UK, where it could end up paying up to $2.7 billion.