Several years ago, a class action lawsuit was filed against Sony. The plaintiffs accused it of creating a PlayStation Store monopoly. At the time, they claimed that the company "unlawfully eliminated competition" and "monopolized the market for Sony digital games." According to them, this ultimately led to consumers "paying more for some digital games in the PlayStation Store than they would have paid under other conditions."
It has now been announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has approved a preliminary settlement agreement with Sony. Under this agreement, Sony will pay more than $7.8 million (600+ million rubles):
The Court has preliminarily approved the proposed settlement agreement between the plaintiffs and the defendant. The proposed Settlement Agreement provides for the payment of $7,850,000 to settle the claims of the plaintiffs and class members against the defendant.
Those who purchased a digital version of a game in the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023, that was previously available through a game-specific voucher (GSV) will be able to claim compensation.
There's a nuance: this will not be a regular cash payment, but rather "credits" will be added to the plaintiffs' accounts.
The list of games covered by the compensation program includes projects such as: NBA 2K18, WWE 2K18, The Jackbox Party Pack, No Man's Sky, Knack, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War: Collection PS Vita, and more — the full list is available at the following link.
"game-specific voucher":
is a physical voucher or electronic code purchased from a non-Sony Interactive Entertainment retailer that allows PlayStation players to download a specific game from the PlayStation Network.