A federal judge in the Northern District of California has granted preliminary approval to a $7.85 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Agustin Caccuri and others that could leave millions of users with PlayStation Network (PSN) credits in their accounts.
The class action, first filed in May 2021, alleges that Sony locked down the digital market for its own games, leading to hiked prices of titles. Sony, however, has denied any wrongdoing, and the court has made no finding on whether the company broke the law.
What this means for players
Eligibility is tied to a specific window. Anyone who purchased an affected title through the PlayStation Store between April 2019 and the end of 2023 can file a claim.
Some heavy hitters made the list. The Last of Us is on there, along with Call of Duty: Classic and Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China. The settlement website hosts the full rundown.
Where things get a little less satisfying for the average gamer is how the payout actually arrives. While the settlement totals $7.85 million, most of this won’t be coming to you as a check or a direct bank deposit.
For the vast majority of users, it’s going out as PSN credit, dropped straight into PlayStation Network account balances, meaning you have to spend it within Sony’s own ecosystem.
If you no longer have an active PSN account, you aren’t completely out of luck, as the settlement allows for an alternative payout, typically via a cash check, but you’ll have to work with the settlement administrator to arrange it.
The settlement website also makes a point of clarifying what the lawsuit isn’t about. None of this concerns the games themselves. Nobody is claiming any of them are broken or defective. It’s purely a fight over pricing and where the games could be sold.
A fairness hearing is scheduled for October 15, 2026, at which the judge will decide whether to grant final approval.
A second look from the court
This is the second time these numbers have appeared before a judge. Reuters reported in July 2025 that U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín rejected an earlier version of the settlement.
Both sides came back with a revised filing, the version currently moving through the court.
The roots of the lawsuit trace back to a 2019 decision by Sony.
According to Reuters, the company stopped third-party retailers from selling download codes for digital PlayStation games. The change funneled the entire digital marketplace into the PlayStation Store, which plaintiffs said gave Sony unfair pricing power.
At the time of the original filing, the proposed class size was estimated at more than 4.4 million people.
Sources: PR Newswire, Official Settlement Website, People, Reuters