Microsoft Seeks Dismissal of Antitrust Claims Over Price Coordination with Valve
Microsoft has filed a motion to dismiss an antitrust case brought by gamers accusing the company of participating in an unlawful arrangement with Valve Corp. to coordinate prices for PC games.
The plaintiffs claim Microsoft accepted payments from Valve as part of an alleged agreement to match prices for games offered through their competing digital storefronts, Epic Games' Store and Steam, respectively.
Microsoft argues that the relationship between itself and Valve is a vertical distribution agreement, with the company acting as a game publisher and Valve as a distributor. The distinction is significant, as antitrust courts generally treat horizontal agreements among competitors more stringently than vertical arrangements involving companies at different levels of a supply or distribution chain.