Stop Killing Games Initiative Joins Lawsuit Against Sony Over PlayStation Store Pricing

The authors of the Stop Killing Games initiative have decided to join a class action lawsuit against Sony’s gaming division over pricing practices in the PlayStation Store. In February 2025, the Dutch consumer rights organization Stichting Massaschade & Consument filed the initial lawsuit. Plaintiffs in the case accuse Sony of artificially inflating product prices on the digital storefront. A special study conducted for the case found that games sold digitally through the store are on average 47 percent more expensive than physical editions.

Activists claim that gamers in the Netherlands have overpaid an estimated 435 million euros since 2013 due to these price differences. Supporters of the Stop Killing Games initiative have labeled these markups an illegal Sony tax. The plaintiffs are demanding that Sony compensate affected consumers, establish fair pricing in the store, and allow the emergence of real alternatives to the PlayStation Store on the market.

This legal friction coincides with broader shifts in physical media distribution. Sony previously announced that starting in January 2028, it will no longer release physical discs for new titles on PlayStation consoles, citing a consumer shift toward digital purchases. Financial reports from Sony showed that physical game sales dropped to 22 percent of sold copies in the previous financial year, down from 49 percent six years prior and 73 percent nine years prior. Although the corporation stated it will continue to sell games in retail stores after discontinuing disc production, likely through cards or boxes with redemption codes, activists fear the digital marketplace will become the only acquisition route.

According to the authors of Stop Killing Games, ending disc printing will leave the PlayStation Store as the sole place to purchase games for company consoles, creating a full-fledged monopoly. Meanwhile, the initiative has faced challenges elsewhere in Europe. The European Commission recently declined to support the preservation initiative, stating that it cannot intervene and amend EU legislation at this stage due to copyright laws that grant gaming companies exclusive rights to manage their projects and server lifecycles. Despite this setback, the initiative's creators continue working on an amendment to the European Digital Fairness Act.