Stop Killing Games has joined an ongoing legal effort in the Netherlands pushing against PlayStation's alleged "monopoly" over digital game sales on its platform. While the lawsuit primarily concerns digital game pricing, the end of physical media has exacerbated worries over Sony's ability to fix its own prices.
A Dutch consumer rights organization called Stichting Massaschade & Consument has been preparing this lawsuit since 2024 as part of its "Fair PlayStation" campaign. "Sony has a monopoly on digital game sales on PlayStation," organizers argue in a video breaking down their stance. "Your PlayStation is designed so you can only buy digital games through Sony's own store. And once Sony stops selling physical games in 2028, you won't have any choice at all."
Today, both Stop Killing Games and community resource DoesItPlay? have announced that they're backing the Fair PlayStation campaign. They've reposted SM&C's video with the title "It's time to sue Sony, join us."
"We're putting our full weight behind SM&C's case, with the Dutch court," the groups explain in the video description. "SM&C has to show the court it actually represents gamers, not just claims to. Our support backs that up globally. Every Dutch gamer who signs on backs it up directly."
PlayStation's ability to set its own digital prices is a big part of why I'm so concerned about the end of discs. On PC, where digital has been standard for decades, there are at least a variety of different stores that can compete against each other to offer different prices on digital games. On PlayStation, the prices are set purely by Sony and their third-party partners.
The same issues obviously hold for Xbox and Nintendo, as well, but neither of those platforms have yet announced that they're going to stop selling physical media. "You end up paying way more" on digital PlayStation purchases, SM&C argues, even without the physical media market driving prices down. "On average, up to 47%. It's basically a Sony tax, and that's clearly against the law."
"The end of physical discs removes the last place where a PlayStation game could still be bought and sold at a competitive price," SM&C said last month in response to Sony's announcement about the end of disc production. "No discs means no second-hand market and no alternative to the PlayStation Store, so from 2028, Sony alone decides what a game costs and even how long you are allowed to use it."
Up to this point, Stop Killing Games has largely focused on campaigns to ensure games remain accessible to players even after servers for them shut down. Notably, the EU commission ruled against Stop Killing Games' biggest effort back in June, but it seems the group is expanding its remit to help support other digital consumer rights efforts. Maybe the all-digital future really is inevitable, but legal challenges will be the only way to ensure digital purchases offer the same sorts of rights as physical ones.
