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PayPalValve Corporation makers of Steam are facing yet another lawsuit, this time around video game audio from the Performing Right Society (PRS) in the UK.
That's on top of the ongoing issue in the UK from Vicki Shotbolt that was recently given the go-ahead, and from New York on their lootboxes. Although, Valve did recently win their case against patent troll Rothschild and associated companies.
What's interesting is that this new lawsuit is centred around games generally being sold and downloaded on Steam, it's not specifically to do with Valve's own games. It's about Valve being the supplier of the games under the UK's Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 (Section 20). So not only do games need their music licenses, but Valve as a store is supposed to have a license too.
PRS directly mentioned the likes of "EA SPORTS FC™, Forza Horizon and Grand Theft Auto" and how Valve "has never obtained a licence for its use of the rights managed by PRS on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers".
According to PRS, they've tried to work with Valve on the licensing issue. As they said: "After having sought to license them for many years without appropriate engagement from Valve Corporation, PRS issued legal proceedings against Valve on 4 March 2026".
A tough time for Valve all around, especially so with all the issues their new hardware is facing with memory and storage pricing. Valve did just recently again reconfirm their Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller will ship in 2026.
From the PRS press release, Dan Gopal, Chief Commercial Officer, PRS for Music said: "Our members create music that enhances experiences and PRS exists to protect the value of their work with integrity, transparency, and fairness. Legal proceedings are not a step we take lightly, but when a business’s actions undermine those principles, we have a duty to act. Great video games rely on great soundtracks, and the songwriters and creators behind them deserve to have their contribution recognised and fairly valued."
I've reached out to Valve for a statement. Article updated 10/03/26 13:05 UTC with a statement from PRS.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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RevenantDak 11 hours ago
Seems the UK has a knack for crazy lawsuits now? 😆
BladePupper 10 hours ago
In 2008, PRS for Music began a concerted drive to make commercial premises pay for annual "performance" licences. In one case it told a 61-year-old mechanic that he would have to pay £150 to play his radio while he worked by himself. It also targeted a bakery that played a radio in a private room at the back of the shop,a woman who used a classical radio to calm her horses and community centres that allowed children to sing carols in public.and
In October 2009, PRS for Music apologised to a 56-year-old shelf-stacker at a village in Clackmannanshire for pursuing her for singing to herself while stacking shelves. PRS for Music initially told her that she would be prosecuted and fined thousands of pounds if she continued to sing without a "live performance" licence. However PRS for Music subsequently acknowledged its mistake.Seems like a very vomit inducing group of people and their lawyers. They think I should pay them if I play a CD or tape in my own home while doing basic chores. Nothing is really ownership or having a proper license to use it for myself unless they get a cut.
Last edited by BladePupper on 11 Mar 2026 at 8:31 am UTC
On the other hand, it would be neat if Steam paying the royalties meant that products containing copyrighted material could be sold through Steam as long as the royalties are paid; DDR/Audiosurf/GH clones could ship with a ton of songs, for example. Anyone could make a Harry Potter/Song of Ice and Fire/Lord of the Rings game.
Of course PRS will try to have their cake AND eat it, but that probably won't happen.
Quoting: pbThat is not where it's headed, that is the way it has been since the 80:ies when these licensing firms was allowed power by politicians to not allow music to be used at all for any means without a separate license in every step of the chain. This is the entire reason why so called Muzak is used in public spaces and why there is a whole industry of people making music "with low entertainment value" which is exempt from this licensing.Quoting: _MarsIt happened in other countries, too. My hairdresser has a plaque informing that the music is only for employees and the customers ought to abstain from listening to it. That's where it's headed...In 2007, PRS for Music took a Scottish car servicing company to court because the employees were allegedly "listening to the radio at work, allowing the music to be 'heard by colleagues and customers'".From the Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRS_for_Music#Legal_cases
Caldathras 1 hour ago
Quoting: tmtvlOn the other hand, it would be neat if Steam paying the royalties meant that products containing copyrighted material could be sold through Steam as long as the royalties are paid; DDR/Audiosurf/GH clones could ship with a ton of songs, for example.That assumes that these parasitic bodies know, much less care, whose work is being licensed. They don't. These bodies don't have a membership list of artists and composers. They don't know whose music is being played by the licensed facility nor to they require that playlists be filed after each event. They are just demanding a general fee because music is involved with the event.
This puts a lie to their claim that a performing artist putting on a show would pay a fee for performing live music but then get that fee back in royalties as the artist and/or composer. Most of the money they collect is likely being consumed by the organization itself with the balance just being distributed to large record firms to line their already considerably wealthy pockets.
Quoting: tmtvlAnyone could make a Harry Potter/Song of Ice and Fire/Lord of the Rings game.Well, these "royalties" only applies to music, not other intellectual property...
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