Digital games for PS5 and PS4 could become cheaper if a lawsuit targeting Sony and the PlayStation Store is successful.

The antitrust lawsuit was filed by a group of consumers in the Northern District of California court and alleges that Sony Interactive Entertainment is creating a monopoly by restricting the sale of digital downloadable game codes by third-party retailers Starting in 2019, PS4 and PS5 games can only be purchased digitally through the PlayStation Store, meaning Sony can charge as much as it wants for PlayStation digital games, the lawsuit cites.

The class action lawsuit alleges that this approach to PS4 and PS5 digital games effectively creates a monopoly whereby Sony prices digital games significantly higher than physical ones.

"Sony's monopoly allows it to charge ultra-competitive prices for PlayStation digital games that are significantly higher than physical counterparts sold in competitive retail markets and significantly higher than digital games sold in competitive retail markets," Bloomberg's The lawsuit states, according to the report. It further states that consumers may be paying 175% more for digital games than for disc-based versions.

Since Sony has spent the effort to provide a digital store and distribution system for its consoles, the argument goes, it should be able to set prices for games sold through its platform. After all, with digital games, most people are paying for the convenience of being able to download the game rather than having to visit a retail store or order a physical copy.

Even though games can be tens of gigabytes in size, the rest mode on the PS4 and PS5 allows the software to download silently in the background.

However, the fairly large disparity between the price of physical and digital games can be hard to swallow outside of sales and deals.

As such, such a lawsuit against Sony and the PlayStation Store is somewhat understandable. However, the lawsuit is currently limited to California and must be tackled by a judge if Sony does not settle out of court. Therefore, there is a good chance that the lawsuit will be thrown out or fail.

If it succeeds, however, Sony may be forced to reconsider how it handles digital game distribution. And Best Buy and Amazon may be able to sell digital versions of PS4 and PS5 games. With more competition, pricing will become more aggressive, resulting in cheaper games for PlayStation fans.

Given that PS5 games will sell for up to $70, cheaper versions will definitely be a boon for many PlayStation gamers. Of course, in order to get your hands on Sony's new console, you will first need to find a healthy restock of PS5 games. For those still searching, that won't be easy given the lack of PS5 inventory.