PlayStation Store Antitrust Settlement: What to Do Now
At a glance
- Status
- Pending final approval
- Defendant
- Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC
- Settlement fund
- $7,850,000
- Claim deadline
- No claim deadline set yet
- No-proof cash option
- Yes — Active PSN accounts get an automatic wallet credit, no claim form. Holders of deactivated accounts must contact the administrator (phone, email, or mail) with qualifying-purchase info and a current address by August 27, 2026 to receive payment by check. The official site does NOT state a per-purchase dollar range or average amount -- individual amounts depend on an unpublished Plan of Allocation after fees/costs/service awards are deducted.
- Estimated payout
- Active PSN accounts get an automatic wallet credit, no claim form. Holders of deactivated accounts must contact the administrator (phone, email, or mail) with qualifying-purchase info and a current address by August 27, 2026 to receive payment by check. The official site does NOT state a per-purchase dollar range or average amount -- individual amounts depend on an unpublished Plan of Allocation after fees/costs/service awards are deducted.
- Administrator
- AB Data
- Official site
- www.psndigitalgamessettlement.com
- Court
- United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Case number
- 21-cv-03361-AMO (Caccuri et al. v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC), No. 3:21-cv-03361-AMO
Last verified September 25, 2026
Key dates
| Milestone | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Claim deadline | No claim deadline set yet | Last day to file for a payment |
| Opt-out (exclusion) deadline | July 2, 2026(passed) | Last day to leave the settlement and keep the right to sue |
| Objection deadline | July 2, 2026(passed) | Last day to object to the terms |
| Final approval hearing | October 15, 2026(passed) | When the judge decides whether to approve the settlement |
| Expected payout | Not yet scheduled | Payments are not sent until after final approval and any appeals |
Where to file
Sony PlayStation Store Digital Games Antitrust Settlement is administered by AB Data. The only place to file is the official settlement website:
Verify on the official sitewww.psndigitalgamessettlement.com
Filing is free. No legitimate settlement charges a fee to file a claim.
You cannot file on RecordingLaw.com. We are an independent publisher, not the settlement administrator, and we are not affiliated with any court, agency, or defendant.
What happened
Sony Interactive Entertainment sold digital PlayStation games two ways for years: through the PlayStation Store itself, and through physical "Game-Specific Voucher" codes sold at retailers that a buyer redeemed for the same digital game. A group of consumers sued Sony, arguing that after it stopped selling those retail vouchers, the PlayStation Store became the only place to buy the affected games, and Sony used that position to overcharge buyers. That is an antitrust claim about market power and pricing, not a data breach; no customer data exposure is alleged.
The case, Caccuri et al. v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, case number 3:21-cv-03361-AMO (N.D. Cal., San Francisco Division), settled for $7,850,000. It covers consumers who bought a Digital Game through the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023, but only if that particular game had previously been sold through a retail Game-Specific Voucher. Buying any digital PlayStation game in that window is not, by itself, enough to be in the class.
The one thing that decides what you need to do
Whether you have to do anything comes down to a single fact: is your PlayStation Network account still active?
If your PSN account is active, the settlement is built to pay you without a claim form. Eligible amounts are planned to land as an automatic credit to your PlayStation wallet once the settlement is finalized and funded. There is nothing to file and nothing to send in.
If your PSN account has been deactivated, closed, or you otherwise cannot log in, the automatic credit has nowhere to go. The settlement required those class members to reach out themselves: contact the settlement administrator, AB Data, by phone, email, or mail, provide information about their qualifying purchases, and give a current mailing address so a check could be sent. The official notice set August 27, 2026 as the deadline to submit a request for a check, and that date has now passed. The notice does not describe a later window, so the official settlement site and AB Data are the only accurate sources on where a missed request leaves you.
Where the case stands right now
As of September 2026, this settlement has preliminary court approval but is not final. The Northern District of California has scheduled a final approval hearing, sometimes called a fairness hearing, for October 15, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. A judge has to sign off at that hearing, or later, before any money moves. No payout date has been set, and that gap can stretch further if anyone appeals the final approval.
Other dates connected to this case have already passed. The deadline to exclude yourself from the class and the separate deadline to object to the settlement's terms both fell on July 2, 2026. Excluding yourself would have preserved your right to sue Sony separately; objecting would have let you stay in the class while telling the court the deal was unfair. Both windows are closed now. The August 27, 2026 deadline for deactivated accounts to request a check, described above, has also passed. The only forward-looking date is the October 15, 2026 fairness hearing.
Who is actually in the class
The class definition has a narrowing condition that is easy to miss. It is not "anyone who bought a PlayStation digital game between 2019 and 2023." It is consumers who bought a Digital Game through the PlayStation Store in that window where that specific title had previously been available as a retail Game-Specific Voucher. The class is defined by that purchase condition rather than by a published headcount. If you are unsure whether a game you bought had a retail voucher version, the official settlement site's FAQ page lays out the full technical eligibility conditions and is the place to check; RecordingLaw.com does not have access to Sony's title-by-title voucher history.
How much people realistically get
As of September 2026, the official settlement site does not publish a per-purchase dollar range, an average payment, or any other specific figure. If you have seen a dollar amount for this settlement online, it did not come from the administrator's own materials.
What is known is the structure, not the amount. The $7,850,000 fund will be reduced first by attorneys' fees, administrative costs, and any service awards the court approves. What remains is divided among valid claims under a Plan of Allocation that has not been made public in dollar terms. Individual payments are estimates from a shared fund, not fixed amounts, and can be adjusted up or down depending on how many people qualify and what the court approves in fees and costs. Anyone offering a specific number before the Plan of Allocation is published is guessing.
What proof you need, by account status
For an active PSN account, no proof submission is described on the official site; the credit is designed to route automatically to the account that already made the qualifying purchases.
For a deactivated account, the notice asked class members to provide qualifying purchase information and a current mailing address so a paper check could reach them, by the August 27, 2026 deadline that has now passed. The official site does not list a formal document-upload process for this path; it was a direct contact by phone, email, or mail.
How to file, narratively
There is no traditional online claim form for this settlement in the usual sense. Active-account holders do not file anything. Deactivated-account holders were told to reach out directly to the administrator, AB Data, using the contact details published on the official settlement site, by August 27, 2026; that deadline has passed. The most reliable place to start either way is the official site itself, where the current phone number, email, and mailing address for AB Data are posted.
One scam vector specific to this settlement
Because deactivated-account holders were told to volunteer account and purchase information by phone or email, that is exactly the setup a phishing attempt would copy. Always start that contact yourself from the official settlement site's own published number or address, never from a link, callback number, or email address that reached you first in an unsolicited text or message. If you already answered one of those messages, our guide to phishing, smishing and vishing covers what to do after clicking a link or giving out account details.
If you're not sure where this leaves you
If your account is active, you likely do not need to do anything but wait for the case to reach final approval. If your account is deactivated, the August 27, 2026 deadline to request a check has passed; if you have a question about a request you already made, contact AB Data only through the contact details posted on the official site. If you are not sure whether a purchase fits the voucher-history condition, the official site's FAQ page is the accurate source, not a summary found elsewhere, including this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PlayStation Store Digital Games Antitrust Settlement?
It is a $7,850,000 settlement resolving a lawsuit, Caccuri et al. v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, that accused Sony of overcharging for certain digital PlayStation games after it stopped selling physical game-specific voucher codes at retail. It is an antitrust and overcharge case, not a data breach; no personal data exposure is alleged.
Do I have to file a claim to get paid?
It depends on your PSN account status. If your account is still active, no claim form is needed; the settlement is structured to credit your PlayStation wallet automatically. If your account was deactivated, the official notice required you to contact the administrator, AB Data, to request a check by August 27, 2026, and that deadline has passed.
How much money will I get from the PlayStation Store settlement?
As of September 2026, the official settlement site does not state a per-purchase dollar range or an average payment. The $7,850,000 fund will be divided under a Plan of Allocation after attorneys' fees, administrative costs, and service awards are deducted, so any specific dollar figure you may have seen elsewhere did not come from the settlement administrator.
Who is in the class for this settlement?
The class covers consumers who purchased a Digital Game through the PlayStation Store between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023, where that specific game had previously been available through a Game-Specific Voucher sold at retail. Buying any PlayStation digital game in that window does not automatically put you in the class; the voucher-history condition narrows it.
What happens if my PSN account is deactivated and I miss the deadline?
The official notice set August 27, 2026 as the deadline for class members with deactivated accounts to submit a request for a check, and that date has passed. The notice does not describe a later window, so check the official settlement site or contact AB Data through its published contact details about your situation rather than relying on any summary, including this one.
Can I still opt out of this settlement?
No. The deadline to exclude yourself, and the deadline to object, both fell on July 2, 2026, and both have passed as of this writing. Opting out would have preserved your right to sue Sony separately over these claims; objecting would have let you stay in the class while telling the court you thought its terms were unfair. Neither option is available now.
When will the money actually be paid out?
Not before the court holds its final fairness hearing on October 15, 2026, and grants final approval. No payout date has been set as of September 2026, and settlements of this kind can also be delayed further by an appeal even after approval.
Is this settlement related to a data breach?
No. This is an antitrust and pricing case about how Sony sold digital PlayStation games after retail voucher codes stopped being available, not an incident involving stolen or exposed personal data. No breach notification or data exposure is part of this settlement.
Is the AB Data phone or email contact a scam?
Contacting AB Data directly through the official settlement site is legitimate, but because deactivated-account holders are asked to volunteer account and purchase details by phone or email, that exact request is also the shape scammers imitate. Start any contact from psndigitalgamessettlement.com yourself rather than a phone number or link in a text or email you did not request.
How to tell a settlement notice is real
Check the case name, case number, and court against the official settlement site. Go to that site directly instead of clicking a link in an email or text. Nobody legitimate will call, text, or email out of the blue asking for your Social Security number, bank account, or card details, and nobody will charge you to file. Report anyone who does at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Already have a notice with a link or sender address? Paste it into our settlement notice checker to compare it with the official claim sites we track.
Informational only. Not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not affiliated with any settlement.
RecordingLaw.com is an independent legal-information publisher. We are not a law firm, not a settlement administrator, and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any court, government agency, defendant, or claims administrator described on this page. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
We do not process claims and we never collect your claim information. You cannot file a claim on RecordingLaw.com. To file, opt out, object, or check your status, use only the official settlement administrator identified above. We link to it for your convenience.
Filing a legitimate claim is free. No legitimate settlement or administrator will charge you a fee to file, or ask for your Social Security number, bank, or card details by unsolicited call, text, or email. If someone does, it is likely a scam. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Deadlines, amounts, and approval status change and are set by the court. We verify against the official administrator and court records, but confirm the current details on the official site before acting. Nothing here guarantees eligibility, a payment, or any amount. Settlement payments may be taxable. See IRS Publication 4345. and consult a tax professional. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state. Affiliate disclosure.
Updates
Updated to reflect that the August 27, 2026 deadline for deactivated PSN accounts to request a check has passed, restated that deadline in the notice's own wording, and re-verified the October 15, 2026 fairness hearing against the official settlement site.
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
United States Code Title 15
§ 2Monopolizing trade a felony; penaltyIn forcecited in 3 of our articles
Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-16 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov
Also relied on in: John Deere Right-to-Repair Settlement: Claims Open to Dec 31, 2026, Teva QVAR Inhaler Antitrust Settlement: Approved, Not Yet Paid
§ 1Trusts, etc., in restraint of trade illegal; penaltyIn forcecited in 8 of our articles
Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-17 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov
Cited in 11,228 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal (Supreme Court of the United States 2009, 556 U.S. 662)“…restall competitive entry, in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U. S. C. §1. Recognizing that §1 enjoins only anti…”
- Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly (Supreme Court of the United States 2007, 550 U.S. 544)“…nion of the Court. Liability under §1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U. S. C. §1, requires a “contract, combination . .…”
- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. (Supreme Court of the United States 1985, 473 U.S. 614)“…A. S. No. 6997, of claims arising under the Sherman Act, 15 U. S. C. §1 et seq., and encompassed within a va…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: DOJ Files Proposed Settlement With Willow Bridge Over Alleged Rent-Algorithm Collusion, Disney Streaming Antitrust Settlement: Claim Window Closed, JBS Beef & Pork Wage-Fixing Settlement: $202.8M
§ 15Suits by persons injuredIn forcecited in 4 of our articles
Except as provided in subsection (b), any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws may sue therefor in any district court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or is found or has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold the damages by him sustained, and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. The court may award under this section, pursuant to a motion by such person promptly made, simple interest on actual damages for the period beginning on the date of service of such person’s pleading setting forth a claim under the antitrust laws and ending on the date of judgment, or for any shorter period therein, if the court finds that the award of such interest for such period is just in the circumstances.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov
Cited in 5,117 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Will v. Michigan Department of State Police (Supreme Court of the United States 1989, 491 U.S. 58)“…jurisdiction over claims under the federal antitrust laws. 15 U. S. C. §§ 15 and 26. Moreover, the Court in Jeffer…”
- Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society (Supreme Court of the United States 1975, 421 U.S. 240)“…104 (a) (1), 641-644; Clayton Act, § 4, 38 Stat. 731 , 15 U. S. C. § 15 ; Unfair Competition Act, 39 Stat. 798…”
- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. v. Soler Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. (Supreme Court of the United States 1985, 473 U.S. 614)“…ion conferred on private parties by §4 of the Clayton Act, 15 U. S. C. § 15 , and pursued by Soler here by way of i…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Sources and References
- Tax implications of settlements and judgments, Internal Revenue Service(irs.gov).gov
- How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, Federal Trade Commission(consumer.ftc.gov).gov
- PlayStation Store Digital Games Antitrust Settlement, official settlement site(psndigitalgamessettlement.com)
- Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, No. 3:21-cv-03361-AMO (N.D. Cal., San Francisco Division), case docket via CourtListener(courtlistener.com)
- Long-form notice, PSN Digital Games Antitrust Settlement (Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC)(psndigitalgamessettlement.com)