PlayStation To Refund Potential $7.85 Million To PS5 Users Amid Store Wrongdoing
Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Sony
Featured Image Credit: Sony
Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Sony
PlayStation could soon be forced to pay out $7.85 million in refunds to users based within the United States.
As reported by IGN, the Saveri Law Firm LLP has detailed an antitrust lawsuit lodged against Sony.
It accuses the company of having “eliminated competition and monopolised the market for Sony digital games” via the PlayStation Store in what it says is a breach of federal antitrust laws and certain state laws.
This, it argues, has resulted in a higher price for games for some PlayStation users.
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In this latest update, a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California has preliminarily approved a $7.85 million class-action settlement.
This doesn’t mean that users will be issued refunds any time soon.
The process continues on 15 October 2026, when the court will gather to discuss approving the settlement, which includes deciding upon the plan to allocate the settlement funds to affected parties.
To reiterate, the settlement would only be owed to PlayStation users based within the United States, and it also only applies to those who purchased a game on the PlayStation Store from 1 April 2019 to 31 December 2023.
You don’t need to have submitted to take part in the lawsuit to be eligible for a refund. In fact, users are only excluded if they actively objected to the lawsuit.
The final prerequisite is that between 1 April 2019 and 31 December 2023, you have to have purchased one of the games listed in the lawsuit, although it's rather an extensive list of over 100 games.
Popular mentioned titles include Destiny - The Collection, Demon’s Souls, Persona 4 Golden, Star Wars Battlefront, Mass Effect Trilogy, Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition, Resident Evil 4, NieR: Automata, The Elder Scrolls Online - PS4, No Man’s Sky, God of War Collection, inFamous Second Son, Until Dawn, The Last of Us Remastered, Bloodborne: Complete Edition Bundle, Ratchet & Clank, God of War III Remastered, and Journey.
The settlement filing notes that if successful, PlayStation users will be paid out “in the form of cash-value PlayStation Network credits”.
That applies to those with active PSN accounts. For those with deactivated PSN accounts, they’re encouraged to contact the team via the settlement’s website to discuss alternative compensation.
Throughout this process, Sony has denied allegations of anti-competition practices, although it’s far from the first time it's come under fire in relation to the topic.
In 2024, Eurogamer notes that the European Court of Justice dismissed a claim by Sony that attempted to prevent third-party add-ons from being released for PlayStation games.
READ MORE: Free PS5 DLC Available For AAA Release, No PS Plus Required