Sony PlayStation Store $7.85M Antitrust Class Action Settlement (No Claim Form Required)

Sony PlayStation Store $7.85M Antitrust Class Action Settlement: Automatic PSN Credits, No Claim Form Required

By Steve Levine

Sony PlayStation Store antitrust class action settlement PSN digital games

Published: April 29, 2026

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Status Preliminarily Approved Final approval hearing October 15, 2026
Settlement Amount $7,850,000 distributed as PlayStation Network account credits
Estimated Per-Account Payout $0.91 to $33.66 in PSN store credit, varies by qualifying purchase volume
Claim Form Not Required automatic credit to active PSN account wallets
Opt-Out / Objection Deadline July 2, 2026 deactivated-account payment request deadline August 27, 2026

What Is the Sony PlayStation Store Class Action Settlement About?

The Sony PlayStation Store antitrust class action settlement resolves a long-running federal lawsuit captioned Caccuri, et al. v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, Case No. 21-cv-03361-AMO, pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, before Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin. The case alleges that Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (commonly known as SIE or simply Sony) engaged in anticompetitive conduct that monopolized the market for digital PlayStation games and caused consumers to pay higher prices for digital games on the PlayStation Store than they otherwise would have paid in a competitive market.

The factual heart of the case sits on a single date: April 1, 2019. Before that date, PlayStation users could buy digital game download codes (called Game-Specific Vouchers, or GSVs) from third-party retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop. Those retailers competed on price and routinely offered discounts on the same digital games sold directly on the PlayStation Store.

On April 1, 2019, Sony stopped allowing those third-party retailers to sell PlayStation digital download codes, effectively making the PlayStation Store the only place to buy digital PlayStation games. The plaintiffs allege that the resulting elimination of price competition allowed Sony to charge supracompetitive prices and that consumers paid more for digital games than they would have in a competitive marketplace.

Sony has denied any wrongdoing throughout the litigation, and the court has not decided whether Sony violated any laws. The case is being settled, not adjudicated. The class action is a federal antitrust case brought under Section 2 of the Sherman Act and parallel state-law theories, and the lawsuit does not claim that any PlayStation games are defective or that the PlayStation hardware itself is at issue.

How Much Money Will I Get From the Sony PlayStation Store Settlement?

According to estimates filed by Interim Lead Counsel Michael M. Buchman of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP, the recovery range for individual class members is between $0.91 and $33.66 in PlayStation Network store credit. Where any given class member lands inside that range depends on how many qualifying digital games they purchased during the class period and how the Plan of Allocation distributes the net settlement fund across approximately 4.4 million eligible PSN accounts.

The full $7.85 million settlement amount will be reduced by court-approved attorneys' fees of up to 25% (so roughly $1.96 million), reasonable costs and expenses, and aggregate service awards of $30,000 split among the three named plaintiffs (Agustin Caccuri, Adrian Cendejas, and Allen Neumark).

Whatever remains, less administrative expenses, is the net fund that gets divided across class members' PSN account wallets. Estimating very roughly, that net fund is probably in the neighborhood of $5.5 to $5.8 million spread across 4.4 million accounts, which is why the per-account averages skew toward the low end of the recovery range. Class members with multiple qualifying purchases over the class period will receive the larger end of the estimated range.

Are PlayStation Store Credits the Same as Cash in This Settlement?

No. This is one of the most important things for class members to understand. The Sony settlement pays out in PlayStation Network account credits, not cash. The credits do not expire, are not transferable to other people, and can be used on any product available in the PlayStation Store (not just digital games, but also DLC, subscriptions, in-game currency, and other content).

The court itself questioned whether PSN-only credits qualified as a true monetary benefit. At the preliminary approval hearing, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin pressed Class Counsel on whether account credits should be treated as real money or as a coupon (which would be subject to much stricter scrutiny under the Class Action Fairness Act).

Class Counsel Michael Buchman argued that the credits function as monetary value because there are nearly 2,000 games on the PlayStation Store priced under $2 and over 100 games priced at $0.19, meaning even a small credit can buy a complete digital game with no out-of-pocket cost. Judge Martinez-Olguin ultimately granted preliminary approval, setting up the October 15, 2026 fairness hearing.

For class members, the practical implication is that the settlement check shows up as a number in the PSN wallet, not a check in the mail or a deposit to a bank account. If the class member does not actively use their PSN account, the credit may sit there unused indefinitely, but it does not lapse.

Who Qualifies for the Sony PlayStation Store Class Action Settlement?

The settlement class is defined as all persons in the United States who purchased through the PlayStation Store one or more video games for which a Game-Specific Voucher was available at retail prior to April 1, 2019, for which a total of at least 200 GSV redemptions were made prior to April 1, 2019, and for which the post-discount price increased by at least fifty cents from: (a) the period between January 1, 2017 and March 31, 2019; as compared to (b) the period between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023.

That definition is precise but dense. In plain terms, three things have to be true for a digital game purchase to qualify:

• The purchase happened through the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023 (the class period).
• The same game was historically sold as a Game-Specific Voucher at brick-and-mortar retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, or GameStop, and at least 200 of those vouchers were actually redeemed before April 1, 2019.
• After April 1, 2019, the digital price of that game on the PlayStation Store rose by at least 50 cents compared to the average pre-April-2019 price.

Most casual PlayStation buyers will not know any of these things off the top of their head, which is why Class Counsel published an official list of eligible games. If your past PlayStation purchases include any titles on that list, your PSN account is likely a class member. If your purchases do not include any titles on that list, your account is likely not a class member.

List of Eligible Games for the Sony PlayStation Settlement

The official list of eligible PlayStation digital games is published by the Notice and Settlement Administrator at the case website. The list below is reproduced from the authoritative PDF for easy reference, but the official PDF remains the controlling authority.

Class members do not need to print, save, or submit the list as part of any claim process. Sony's internal sales records will identify which class member purchased which qualifying game during the class period, and the Plan of Allocation distributes the credit accordingly. The list below exists so individual class members can spot-check their own purchase history against the case parameters.

View the official PDF: PSN Digital Games Settlement Eligible Games List (PDF). The list below is current as of the April 29, 2026 publication of this article and may be amended by the Settlement Administrator if additional qualifying titles are identified.

Qualifying PlayStation Digital Games (Alphabetized)

  • Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
  • Battlefield Hardline Standard Edition
  • Beach Buggy Racing
  • Bloodborne Complete Edition Bundle
  • Bound
  • Call of Duty Classic
  • Dead Nation Apocalypse Edition
  • Demon's Souls
  • Destiny - The Collection
  • Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection
  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • EA SPORTS FIFA 17 Standard Edition
  • EA SPORTS NHL 17 Standard Edition
  • The Elder Scrolls Online - PS4
  • FINAL FANTASY XIV Online - Starter Edition
  • Flower PS4
  • Freedom Wars
  • GOD EATER: Resurrection
  • God of War Collection
  • God of War III Remastered
  • God of War: Ascension
  • God of War: Collection PS Vita
  • God of War: Origins Collection
  • Gravity Rush
  • Here They Lie
  • Human: Fall Flat
  • inFAMOUS Festival of Blood
  • inFAMOUS First Light
  • inFAMOUS Second Son
  • The Invisible Hours
  • The Jackbox Party Pack
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 2
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 3
  • The Jackbox Party Trilogy
  • Jak and Daxter Collection
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle
  • Journey
  • Justice League VR: The Complete Experience
  • Killzone Shadow Fall
  • Killzone: Mercenary
  • Knack
  • Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
  • The Last of Us
  • The Last of Us Remastered
  • The Last of Us: Left Behind Stand Alone
  • LIMBO
  • LittleBigPlanet 3
  • Madden NFL 17
  • Mass Effect Trilogy
  • MLB The Show 16 - MVP Edition
  • MotorStorm Apocalypse
  • NBA 2K18
  • NBA LIVE 18: The One Edition
  • NBA LIVE 19: The One Edition
  • Need for Speed Most Wanted
  • Need for Speed Rivals
  • NieR: Automata
  • No Man's Sky
  • Okami HD
  • The Order: 1886
  • Persona 4 Golden
  • Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare
  • PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale PS Vita
  • Primal Carnage: Extinction
  • Ratchet & Clank
  • Ratchet & Clank Collection
  • Ratchet & Clank: Collection (PS3)
  • Resident Evil 4
  • RESOGUN
  • Saban's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle
  • Saints Row 2
  • Shadow of the Colossus
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
  • Skullgirls 2nd Encore
  • Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition
  • Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
  • The Solus Project
  • Special Delivery
  • Sports Champions 2
  • STAR WARS Battlefront
  • Super Mega Baseball
  • Toukiden 2
  • Trials Fusion
  • Trine 2: Complete Story
  • Tumble VR
  • Twisted Metal
  • UNCHARTED 3: Drake's Deception (Game of the Year Digital Edition)
  • UNCHARTED Greatest Hits Dual Pack
  • UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss
  • UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection
  • The Unfinished Swan
  • Until Dawn
  • The Witness
  • WWE 2K17 Digital Deluxe
  • WWE 2K18 Digital Deluxe Edition
  • WWE 2K19


Do I Need to File a Claim Form for the PlayStation Store Settlement?

No. Unlike most consumer class action settlements, the Sony PlayStation Store settlement does not require active class members to file a claim form. Sony Interactive Entertainment will automatically distribute the net settlement amount, in the form of PlayStation Network store credit, to the PSN account wallets of all class members who do not exclude themselves from the settlement.

This automatic-distribution structure is unusual and is one of the reasons the settlement is attractive to consumers despite the modest per-account recovery. Most class action settlements see only a small percentage of eligible class members ever file claims, with industry-wide claim rates often falling between 1% and 10% in consumer cases.

Because Sony's records already identify which PSN accounts purchased which qualifying digital games, the settlement bypasses the claim-form bottleneck entirely. Effectively, the claim rate for active PSN accounts is close to 100% by default.

The single exception involves class members whose PSN accounts are now deactivated. Those class members must take action by submitting qualifying purchase information and a current address to the Settlement Administrator on or before August 27, 2026 in order to receive any settlement money they are entitled to. Deactivated-account class members will receive their payment in the form of a check rather than PSN credit, since they no longer have a wallet to credit.

When Will the Sony PlayStation Settlement Pay Out?

Active-account class members will receive their PlayStation Network credit within five business days after the date the court grants final approval to the settlement, or July 1, 2026, whichever is later. The Fairness Hearing where the court will decide whether to grant final approval is scheduled for October 15, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

That means the most realistic timing for credits to actually appear in PSN account wallets is late October or early November 2026, assuming final approval is granted at the hearing without delay and no objections cause the schedule to slip.

If the court denies final approval, requires further amendments to the settlement agreement, or if a class member files a notice of appeal after the order, the timeline could extend by months or even into 2027. The settlement has already gone through one significant revision (the Second Revised Settlement Agreement, dated February 26, 2026) after Judge Martinez-Olguin initially expressed concern about the credit-only structure, so a second round of court scrutiny at the fairness hearing is expected but not guaranteed to be friction-free.

Sony PlayStation Antitrust Case Timeline

Here is the full procedural history of the case from the original complaint through the October 2026 fairness hearing.

Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment Timeline

  1. May 5, 2021
    Original class action filed
    Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC filed in N.D. Cal., alleging Section 2 Sherman Act monopolization of PlayStation digital game market
  2. July 15, 2022
    Initial complaint dismissed
    Court dismisses original complaint on refusal-to-deal grounds, with leave to amend
  3. 2024
    Motion to dismiss denied on amended complaint
    Reported at Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Ent. LLC, 735 F. Supp. 3d 1139 (N.D. Cal. 2024); case proceeds to discovery
  4. November 14, 2024
    Original Settlement Agreement signed
    Initial $7.85 million settlement reached after extensive discovery
  5. December 4, 2024
    Revised Settlement Agreement filed
    Parties revise settlement structure to address initial court concerns
  6. August 18, 2025
    Second Consolidated Amended Complaint filed
    Class definition refined; preliminary approval motion filed at ECF 207
  7. February 26, 2026
    Second Revised Settlement Agreement filed
    Final settlement structure addresses Judge Martinez-Olguin's concerns about PSN-credit-only payout
  8. April 2026
    Preliminary approval granted; class notice issued Current Phase
    Notice plan begins; class members start receiving notice via email and the PlayStation Store
  9. July 2, 2026
    Opt-out and objection deadline
    Last day to file written exclusion request or objection
  10. August 27, 2026
    Deactivated-account payment request deadline
    Last day for class members with closed PSN accounts to submit address and qualifying purchase information
  11. October 15, 2026
    Fairness Hearing
    2:00 p.m. before Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division
  12. Late October to November 2026 (expected)
    PSN credits distributed to active accounts
    Within five business days of final approval, or July 1, 2026, whichever is later

How Do I Opt Out of or Object to the Sony PlayStation Settlement?

Class members who do not want to be bound by the settlement have two options other than doing nothing: opting out (excluding themselves from the settlement) or objecting (staying in the settlement but raising concerns with the court). Both must be in writing, and both have a single deadline: July 2, 2026.

Class members who opt out give up the right to receive any portion of the settlement amount but retain the right to sue Sony separately for the conduct alleged in the class action, subject to applicable statute-of-limitations rules. Class members who object remain part of the class and remain eligible for the credit, but their objection becomes part of the record the court reviews at the October 15, 2026 fairness hearing. The court can take objections into account when deciding whether to approve the settlement, modify the terms, or send the parties back to the negotiating table.

Most class members will not opt out or object. The economics of opting out only make sense for class members who believe their individual damages are substantially larger than the credit they would receive (which would be unusual given the $0.91 to $33.66 estimated range), or for class members who object to the overall structure of a digital-credit settlement on principle. The vast majority of the approximately 4.4 million eligible accounts will simply do nothing and receive their automatic PSN credit after final approval.

Is the Sony PlayStation Class Action Settlement a Scam? How to Spot Fake PSN Credit Emails

Whenever a major class action settlement involves automatic payouts to a large consumer base, scammers send fake "you have an unclaimed PSN credit" emails and texts asking recipients to click a link, log in to a spoofed PlayStation site, or pay a small "processing fee" to claim their settlement money. A few signals separate the real Sony PlayStation Store settlement from a scam:

• The real settlement requires no claim form for active PSN accounts. Anyone telling you to fill out a claim form, click a link to "verify your eligibility," or log in to a non-PlayStation site to claim Sony settlement money is not running the real case.
• The official case website is PSNDigitalGamesSettlement.com, maintained by A.B. Data Ltd. as the court-appointed Notice and Settlement Administrator. Anything else is not the case.
• The real settlement never asks for your full Social Security number, banking passwords, credit card numbers, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or up-front fees of any kind.
• Settlement credits are deposited directly to your PSN account wallet by Sony itself. There is no separate "claim portal" or "PSN settlement payment site" that processes credits outside of Sony's own infrastructure.
• If a text or email asks you to click a shortened or unfamiliar link to receive a PlayStation settlement credit, treat it as a phishing attempt and do not click. Always type PSNDigitalGamesSettlement.com directly into your browser to check the case status.

What Should PlayStation Owners Do Right Now?

With preliminary approval granted and the fairness hearing scheduled for October 15, 2026, here is the short checklist for PlayStation owners who think they may qualify:

• Bookmark the official case website (PSNDigitalGamesSettlement.com) and check it through October 2026 for any schedule updates or amended deadlines.
• If you have an active PSN account, do nothing. If your account purchased qualifying games during the class period, Sony will credit your wallet automatically after final approval.
• If your PSN account is deactivated and you believe you purchased qualifying games during the class period, you must submit qualifying purchase information and a current address to the Settlement Administrator before August 27, 2026.
• If you want to confirm your eligibility, review the eligible games list at the official case website and cross-reference against your PlayStation Store purchase history (which is visible in your PSN account transaction history under Account Management).
• If you have a serious objection to the credit-only structure or believe you were damaged in an amount substantially greater than the $33.66 high-end estimated recovery, you have until July 2, 2026 to file a written opt-out or objection. Most class members will not need to do this.

Lawyers Representing Class Members

The court has appointed Michael M. Buchman of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP as Interim Lead Counsel for the Settlement Class. Class members are not personally responsible for paying Class Counsel. As permitted by federal law and the Settlement Agreement, Interim Lead Counsel intends to seek a reasonable fee of up to 25% of the $7.85 million Settlement Amount, plus reimbursement of reasonable costs and expenses, with the fee paid out of the Settlement Fund rather than charged to class members. The court will decide at the fairness hearing what amount, if any, to award.

Class Counsel may also seek service awards in the aggregate amount of $30,000 to compensate the three named plaintiffs, Agustin Caccuri, Adrian Cendejas, and Allen Neumark, for their time and effort representing the class. Service awards are subject to court approval and would be paid from the Settlement Fund or from the attorneys' fee award. Class members retain the right to submit written comments or objections to the court regarding the fee application and to appear at the October 15, 2026 fairness hearing.

How Do I Find Class Action Settlements?

Find all the latest class actions you can qualify for by getting notified of new lawsuits as soon as they are open to claims:



Sources

• Official Case Website: PSN Digital Games Settlement Site
• Official Notice of Class Action Settlement: Sony PlayStation Class Action Settlement Notice (PDF)
• Official Eligible Games List: List of Eligible Games (PDF)
• United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Caccuri, et al. v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, Civil Action No. 21-cv-03361-AMO, Hon. Araceli Martinez-Olguin presiding
• Plaintiffs' Notice of Motion and Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement, ECF 207, filed August 18, 2025
• Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Ent. LLC, 735 F. Supp. 3d 1139 (N.D. Cal. 2024)


Case Information

OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site. We report on filed complaints, court orders, and preliminarily approved settlements. We are not a law firm, we are not Class Counsel, we are not the Settlement Administrator, and we do not process or decide claims. The information in this article is based on the publicly filed Notice of Class Action Settlement, the official case website, and federal court records. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC denies any wrongdoing, and the court has not decided the merits of the plaintiffs' claims.

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Settlement Snapshot
Status Preliminarily Approved; Fairness Hearing October 15, 2026
Settlement Amount $7,850,000 in PSN account credits
Estimated Per-Account Payout $0.91 to $33.66 in PSN store credit
Class Size Approximately 4.4 million PSN accounts
Class Period April 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023
Claim Form Required? No - automatic credit to active PSN account wallets
Opt-Out / Objection Deadline July 2, 2026
Deactivated Account Deadline August 27, 2026
Fairness Hearing October 15, 2026
Defendant Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE)
Case Number 21-cv-03361-AMO
Court U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Judge Hon. Araceli Martinez-Olguin
Class Counsel Michael M. Buchman, Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP
Settlement Administrator A.B. Data, Ltd.
Official Website PSN Digital Games Settlement Site