Summary
The United States Federal Trade Commission has submitted a new court filing about the recent price hikes and major changes toXbox Game Pass, wherein it slams Microsoft for “degrading” the subscription service. The American consumer protection watchdog has been engaged in a legal back-and-forth withMicrosoftsince its proceedings to acquire Activision Blizzard King, and the FTC seemingly remains intent on reversing the merger.
While Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King was approved without much friction in regions like Australia, the Middle East, and Europe, the trillion-dollar corporation faced fierce recoil in its home country. TheFTC filed an injunction to block the Activision Blizzard acquisitionback in June 2023, but the federal court trial swayed in Microsoft’s favor and the merger eventually went through in the following months. Even though the FTC was unsuccessful in its efforts, the antitrust custodian has been quite vocal about Microsoft’s decisions regarding Activision Blizzard’s integration into the business.
Microsoft Went Back on its Claims About Game Pass Price Hikes, Says FTC
The FTC additionally notes in the filing that this is “exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger” that the antitrust commission wanted to stop in the first place, and that the new Game Pass changes are “the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger.” It also brings up Microsoft’s contradictory claims aboutGame Pass prices not being increased after the Activision Blizzard deal, although the company did specify that prices wouldn’t go up “as a result of the acquisition.” The deliberate wording may give Microsoft enough plausible deniability to evade the allegations, but that remains to be seen.
Microsoft has yet to respond to these complaints, but with this new filing, theFTC continues its crusade against the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The exact reason behind the recent Game Pass price hikes is unclear, but the leading theory for now is the highly anticipated addition ofCall of Duty Black Ops 6to the service this October.
