As Xbox raises Game Pass costs, former FTC chair says it warned Activision deal would ‘harm gamers’

The former chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who fought to dam its 2023 acquisition of Activision Blizzard, has criticized Microsoft’s resolution to lift Game Pass costs.

Earlier this week, Microsoft introduced a 50% value improve to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, taking its highest tier to $30 / £23 a month.

Microsoft’s Xbox consoles have additionally seen a sequence of value will increase in latest months, the newest coming final week when the corporate introduced that it could as soon as once more increase costs within the US.

Since the completion of the Activision Blizzard deal in 2023, Microsoft has additionally laid off 1000’s of workers, together with in its gaming enterprise.

According to a brand new Bloomberg report, the Game Pass value rises come after Xbox gave up “more than $300 million in sales” of Call of Duty on console and PCs final yr, in accordance with a former worker.

Lina Khan, who was the chair of the FTC from 2021 till earlier this yr, took to social media after the Game Pass information, quoting a put up which famous that, in March 2023, Microsoft advised a courtroom that Game Pass costs wouldn’t improve because of its Activision Blizzard acquisition.

“Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been followed by significant price hikes and layoffs, harming both gamers and developers,” Khan wrote. “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.”

Microsoft accomplished the video games business’s largest ever deal in October 2023, after the US District Court for the Northern District of California denied the FTC’s movement for a preliminary injunction, permitting the acquisition to be accomplished.

The FTC proceeded with an enchantment in December 2023, trying to overturn the courtroom’s resolution. Earlier this yr, that enchantment was rejected, and the Commission formally dropped the case solely.

At the time, Microsoft president Brad Smith known as the choice “a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, D.C.”

Since the Activision Blizzard deal was accomplished, the addition of the Call of Duty big has boosted Microsoft’s earnings considerably, however it was additionally adopted by a major variety of layoffs.