Legal proceedings can sometimes become, if not a serious disruption, then at least an unpleasant nuisance for major gaming companies. Two intriguing developments are unfolding simultaneously, both revolving around the infamous 30% commission.

The first story focuses on mobile gaming stores on Android. As we know, a court ruling mandated Google to open its platform to third-party stores. However, the company’s legal team managed to delay the implementation of this decision. Because of this, Microsoft has been unable to launch its Xbox Store on Android. Google, in response, shrugged and said Microsoft should have launched earlier, claiming that no one had prevented them from doing so.

This reaction drew the ire of Epic Games' CEO, whose lawsuit led to the court ruling in the first place. He accused Google of dishonesty.

The other case involves Steam, which is also known for its 30% commission. Back in 2021, an antitrust lawsuit was filed against Valve, accusing Gabe Newell's corporation of charging excessively high commissions for developers on Steam, a rate maintained due to the lack of serious competition. The saga continues, as the lawsuits from two different companies have now been given class action status. Representatives from the companies themselves filed a motion to reclassify the case, which was granted by the district judge.

This reclassification could significantly expand the scope of the case if more developers choose to participate. Those of them who paid fees starting 2017 may now join it. The other notable sign is that the court rejected a request from Valve to exclude the testimony of one of the experts brought by the plaintiffs to support their claims.

While this situation is smaller in scale, Gabe Newell will have to spend a considerable amount on legal fees, which could interfere with the plans of the relatively small company (in terms of its number of employees). It’s too early to speculate about the longer-term outcomes of this case.

Main image: youtube.com

Comment on this