The EU Commission fines the owner of an online PC gaming platform and five publishers for entering into “geo-blocking” practices (Valve / Bandai Namco / Capcom / Focus Home / Koch Media / ZeniMax)

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EU Commission, Valve / Bandai Namco / Capcom / Focus Home / Koch Media / ZeniMax, Press release, 20 January 2021

Antitrust: Commission fines Valve and five publishers of PC video games € 7.8 million for “geo-blocking” practices* The European Commission has fined Valve, owner of the online PC gaming platform “Steam”, and the five publishers Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax € 7.8 million for breaching EU antitrust rules. Valve and the publishers restricted cross-border sales of certain PC video games on the basis of the geographical location of users within the European Economic Area (‘EEA'), entering into, the so called “geo-blocking” practices. The fines for the publishers, totalling over €6 million, were reduced due to the companies' cooperation with the Commission. Valve chose not to cooperate with the Commission and was fined over €1.6 million. Executive Vice-President

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European Commission, The EU Commission fines the owner of an online PC gaming platform and five publishers for entering into “geo-blocking” practices (Valve / Bandai Namco / Capcom / Focus Home / Koch Media / ZeniMax), 20 January 2021, e-Competitions January 2021, Art. N° 99105

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