The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) vs Microsoft
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1981 Media Ltd ☛ FTC claims Xbox’s Game Pass price hike is ‘consumer harm’ it warned of
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called Microsoft’s recently announced Game Pass price rises “exactly the sort of consumer harm” it tried to stop by fighting the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
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The Verge ☛ FTC blasts Microsoft’s new ‘degraded’ Xbox Game Pass Standard tier and price increases
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has blasted Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass price increases in a filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Microsoft revealed last week that it’s increasing PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prices, and planning to launch a new Game Pass Standard tier soon without day one access to first-party Xbox games.
The FTC calls this new Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product,” because new Game Pass users won’t be able to sign up to the $10.99 Game Pass for Console, which includes day one game access. Instead, Xbox Game Pass Standard will be priced at $14.99 and won’t include day one games, but will include online multiplayer.
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FTC: Game Pass Price Hike is Microsoft 'Exercising Market Power Post-Merger' - News
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the US has posted a new filing saying the Xbox Game Pass price increase is the "consumer harm" it warned about when Microsoft was trying to acquire Activision Blizzard that was eventually completed in October 2023.
"Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation — combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs — are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger," reads the filing from the FTC.
"Product degradation — removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service — combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged."