Valve to challenge EU claim that Steam violates geo-blocking rules

The European Commission ruled in April that Valve and five other game publishers are violating EU rules on geo-blocking. According to Reuters, Valve is the only data subject addressed who will legally oppose the Commission’s judgment.

Valve will challenge the European Commission’s conclusion, according to Reuters sources, and will request a closed-door hearing where the company can explain its position to Commission officials and employees of national competition watchdogs. This may eventually lead to a lawsuit.

The five other game companies, namely Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax are said to be planning to reach a settlement with the European Commission. This means that they must acknowledge that they have violated the geo-blocking rules, after which the fine to be imposed is reduced by ten percent. The Commission can impose fines on companies up to a maximum of ten percent of their turnover.

This case started in 2017 with an investigation by the European Commission. It zoomed in on similarities between Valve and the five game publishers. As a result, the parties offered cheaper game activation codes through Steam in some EU countries, while EU consumers from other countries were unable to use those codes. Thus, a distinction was made on the basis of the geographic location of the user, which, according to the Commission, is contrary to EU competition rules. The Commission also stated that the five publishers have imposed contractual export restrictions on other distributors.

Valve’s apparent opposition doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as the company behind Steam has previously denied responsibility. Valve’s Doug Lombardi said in April that only three percent of games on Steam were affected. In addition, he stated that Steam is only a platform that others use and that Valve cannot be addressed if other parties use geo-blocking. Valve also believes that it has been taking action against regional blockades when offering games since 2015.

The Commission’s findings were made in April and provided a preliminary view on this issue. The companies addressed were given the opportunity to respond to the Commission’s vision. Whether Article 101 of the Functioning Treaty, which contains the EU cartel ban, has actually been violated has yet to be definitively determined.