Sony is facing a brand new lawsuit linked to recent price increases on the PlayStation 5 console and changes made to US tariffs. The lawsuit alleges that Sony is set to hold on to a significant amount of money after the US tariff refunds, arguing that it should instead go to the consumers who paid those inflated prices.
Tariffs enacted in 2025 by the Trump administration in the US have largely been shut down at this point, and the Supreme Court declared the IEEPA tariffs unconstitutional. Since then, a method for companies to claim back the tariff cost has been offered, which is where this new lawsuit against Sony comes into play.
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Sony faces new lawsuit over tariffs
Now, a new class action lawsuit has been filed against Sony, alleging that Sony faces a “significant unexpected risk generated by illegal tariffs.” In other words, the lawsuit alleges that Sony raised the price of the PlayStation 5 to compensate for the tariffs and will now receive tariff refunds from the government, but not pass them on to consumers who paid extra for PlayStation consoles during that time period. If true, it would mean that Sony is profiting twice, first from the increased costs of the PlayStation 5 family of consoles, and again from the tariffs being refunded. The lawsuit claims that all consumers who bought PlayStation 5 consoles at the increased price after the tariffs were imposed are owed refunds for the extra cost.
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Sony has been the target of a number of lawsuits in recent years, even before the tariffs took effect. Sony has faced class action lawsuits over the PlayStation Store's pricing, controller operation, and it has faced a lawsuit from an ex-Fate developer. Some of these have been dismissed, such as the lawsuit over controller operation, but a lawsuit that accused Sony of limiting third-party sales on its platforms and thereby creating a monopoly was recently settled. In that particular case, a preliminary settlement will see Sony pay $7.8 million to those affected.
That being said, this problem is far from limited to Sony, or even video game and console manufacturers. Nintendo is also facing a customs lawsuit for much the same reason, indicating that the money Nintendo gets back from customs refunds should be given to its consumers. Amazon, Nike and Adidas are currently being sued for the same reason, and shipping companies such as UPS and FedEx, which also faced legal threats, have promised to see their duty refunds routed to affected customers.
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At this point, it remains to be seen how Sony will respond to the lawsuit, and whether players will eventually get their money back. The introduction of these tariffs has clearly created a messy situation for both businesses and consumers, and it may take some time before all refunds are issued to businesses that apply for them. It's also still unclear how much PlayStation fans can expect to receive if the lawsuit is successful or if Sony promises to refund consumers. Whether Sony freely chooses to refund customers for the extra they paid due to tariffs or whether the lawsuit continues, it will likely be some time before this problem is resolved for all those affected.
