Valve to fight EU antitrust charges, 5 videogame publishers to settle - sources

Pullup Entertainment SA

29/08/2019 18:31

* Companies can face fines up to 10 pct of global turnover
    * Companies can admit wrongdoing in return for 10 pct fine
cut
    * EU wants to remove barriers to cross-border online trade

 (Adds European Commission decline comment, no comment from
Valve, Focus Home, Capcom and Bandai Namco comment, no immediate
comment from Koch Media and ZeniMax, details)
    By Foo Yun Chee
    BRUSSELS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Valve Corp, owner of the
world's largest video game distribution platform "Steam", plans
to fight EU antitrust charges of preventing cross-border trade,
unlike five video game publishers which plan to settle the case,
people familiar with the matter said.
    Valve and video game makers Bandai Namco  7832.T , Capcom
 9697.T , Focus Home  ALFOC.PA , Koch Media and U.S. peer
ZeniMax have been the target of a European Commission
investigation since 2017.
    The EU competition enforcer in April charged the six
companies with preventing EU consumers from shopping around for
the best video game deals within the 28-country bloc.
    It said the companies agreed to use geo-blocking activation
keys to prevent consumers in one EU country from buying cheaper
versions of a game in another EU country. 
    The Commission, which wants to scrap cross-border curbs on
online trade in the bloc, also charged the five publishers of
preventing other distributors from selling video games outside
their allocated territories.
    Valve is fighting the charge and is likely to ask for a
closed-door hearing to argue its case before senior competition
officials from the Commission and national watchdogs, the people
said.
    The five publishers plan to settle the charges, they said.
Under EU antitrust rules for settlements, companies admit
wrongdoing in return for a 10 percent cut in their fines.
    Valve and Focus Home did not respond to requests for
comments. Valve in its April statement on the EU charges said
the region locks applied to only 3 percent of all games using
its Steam platform and that it turned off the locks in Europe in
2015.
    The Commission, which can fine companies up to 10 percent of
their turnover for breaching EU antitrust rules, declined to
comment.
    Japanese company Capcom said it could not provide any
further comment until the Commission issues a decision. Bandai
Namco said: "It is BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe's company
policy to not comment on any ongoing legal matters."
    Washington, D.C.-based ZeniMax and Koch Media had no
immediate comment. 

 (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and
Alexandra Hudson)
 ((foo.yunchee@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 287 6844; Reuters
Messaging: foo.yunchee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))