Sony Interactive Entertainment and its subsidiaries have been under investigation for possible infringement of competition rules since earlier this year.
Since than we got little to no update about the on-going investigation but speaking with Clawsomegamer, Romania’s competition body, Consiliul Concurentei (RCC), confirmed that after gathering evidence from Sony’s Europe offices they expect the investigation to be concluded “within the next year.”
Romanian investigators claim that Sony is violating the law by forcing players to buy games via the PS Store.
They believe Sony “may have abused its dominant position” in the console market by actively stopping competition stores from selling its game codes.
If Sony is found guilty next year, we can expect heavy fines, restructuring or both.
The Romanian Competition Council (Consiliul Concurenței) can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover in the previous financial year.
The law also allows for mitigating circumstances that could reduce the fine. For example, Sony could choose to settle the case by admitting the infringement, which might reduce the fine by 10% to 30%.
However, this requires a formal acknowledgment of guilt and acceptance of the fine amount set by the RCC.
