Sony Interactive Entertainment has agreed to pay $7.85 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the company of monopolizing digital game sales on its PlayStation Store. A federal judge in the Northern District of California granted preliminary approval on April 8, 2026.
The case, Caccuri et al. v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Civil Action No. 21-cv-03361-AMO), has been moving through the courts since 2021. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín oversees the case. The Saveri Law Firm, LLP formally announced the court’s decision on April 29, 2026.
What the Lawsuit Claims
The lawsuit centers on a decision Sony made on April 1, 2019. That’s when Sony stopped allowing retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart to sell game-specific vouchers (GSVs) for PlayStation digital titles.
Before 2019, players could buy these vouchers at physical stores and use them to download games from the PlayStation Store. When Sony cut off that option, all digital game purchases had to go through the PSN store directly.
Plaintiffs argued this removed price competition between retailers and let Sony charge higher prices than a competitive market would allow. The lawsuit cites violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Act.
Sony denied any wrongdoing. The court never ruled on the underlying claims. The case moved to settlement instead.
Who Qualifies for a Payout
US consumers who bought certain digital PlayStation games through the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023, are eligible for PSN wallet credits. Those with deactivated accounts can request a check instead.
The settlement covers approximately 4.4 million consumers in the US. To qualify, the game must have seen a price increase of at least $0.50 after April 2019 compared to when retail vouchers were still available.
Games listed as eligible include The Last of Us Remastered, inFAMOUS: First Light, and God of War 3 Remastered. A full list of qualifying titles is available on the PSN Digital Games Settlement website.
The settlement covers game-specific vouchers that could previously be purchased through retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart.
How Much Will You Actually Get
Not much. After attorneys’ fees and administrative costs, the expected recovery lands somewhere between about one dollar and thirty dollars per account, depending on how many qualifying purchases a user made.
Push Square reported estimates of $1 to $3 per qualifying purchase. The $7.85 million spread across 4.4 million eligible accounts leaves very little per person once legal fees come out.
