Microsoft Accused of Kickback Deals With Valve to Harm PC Gaming

Microsoft Corp. was sued in federal court for allegedly accepting kickbacks from its main rival in PC gaming, Valve Corp., as part of a purported deal that harmed the market for distributing games played on a personal computer.

Gamer plaintiffs alleged that Microsoft agreed with Valve to match prices of PC games sold on their competing platforms, establishing uniformity that harmed game quality and content. Their claims were brought in a proposed class action filed Sunday in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.

“Under this agreement, if Microsoft lowers the price of one of its own ...