In light of Microsoft having recently announced its new tier system for Game Pass subscriptions, and subsequently raising the price for Game Pass Ultimate, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) former head, Lina Khan, took to social media to criticise the company. In a social media post, Khan pointed to Microsoft contributing to industry consolidation with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and how this also led to the company raising Game Pass prices.
“Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been followed by significant price hikes and layoffs, harming both gamers and developers,” wrote Khan. “As we’ve seen across sectors, increasing market consolidation and increasing prices often go hand-in-hand. As dominant firms become too-big-to-care, they can make things worse for their customers without having to worry about the consequences.”
Khan’s statement comes after she fought quite hard during her tenure as the head of the FTC against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. At the time, she had warned the industry about the negative effects that the merger – valued at around $69 billion at the time – would eventually end up being worse for the gaming industry. Khan had also argued against the merger stating that Microsoft would prevent studios under Activision Blizzard from releasing their games on non-Microsoft platforms
The FTC had tried to appeal against the acquisition through an appeal for an injunction from back in 2023. However, back in May, the appeal had been denied, along with US Judge Daniel P. Collins writing that the FTC had failed to show the “likelihood of success on the merits as to any of its theories,” with regards to antitrust violations.
As for the premise that Microsoft would make Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox, Collins wrote that “all major manufacturers have engaged in this practice,” before going on to note that Sony and Nintendo “both have significantly higher number of exclusive games on their platforms than [Microsoft] does.”
This ultimately led the FTC to drop its appeals for an antitrust case against Microsoft, with the regulatory body releasing a statement saying that public interest is “best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case.”
“Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, dismissed,” said the FTC when it announced that it was dropping its appeal.
As for Game Pass, along with the Ultimate tier of the subscription service now being priced at $30 per month, Microsoft also unveiled the $9.99 Essential tier, which offers more than 50 games on PC, console and cloud, as well as the $14.99 Premium tier, which offers more than 200 games, with first-party titles becoming available within a year after their release dates. The Ultimate tier, offering more than 400 titles, will also include first-party games on day one of their release.
Shortly after this announcement, Xbox president Sarah Bond also noted that the subscription service had been quite successful, having generated a record high of $5 billion in the previous fiscal year. “It’s a profitable business, and as more creators join Xbox Game Pass, payments to creators increase, so we think it’s a good business for creators,” she said.
