Valve Wins Round Two in Antitrust Case Over Steam Game Platform

Valve Corp. tentatively dodged antitrust litigation Friday over its Steam distribution platform for PC games, when a federal judge in Seattle told the software developer leading the proposed class action to refile it with more details.

Judge John C. Coughenour dismissed the case without prejudice from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, saying the stability over time of Steam’s commission rate—which has remained 30% for years, despite its growing share of the $10 billion annual market—undermined allegations that Valve began squeezing developers as it cemented its dominance.

“The market reality” is that “others who charge less ...