FTC Calls Out Xbox’s New ‘Degraded’ Game Pass Tier & Price Increases

Microsoft recently hiked prices and announced a new ‘Standard’ sub

by Liam Doolan Fri, 2:45am

Update (Sat 20th Jul, 2024): Microsoft has now issued a response to the FTC, stating that the Commission is providing a “misleading, extra-record account of the facts”. You’ll find more details elsewhere on Pure Xbox:

Original story (Fri 19th Jul, 2024): Last week, after ongoing reports, Microsoft announced it would increase the price of Xbox Game Pass and also add a new ‘Standard’ subscription tier for $14.99 USD per month.

Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go down very well with subscribers, and it seems the Federal Trade Commission (aka the FTC) in the US isn’t happy about the news, either.

As highlighted by The Verge’s senior editor Tom Warren, the regulator has “blasted Microsoft’s Xbox Game Price increases” in a new filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and labelled the new ‘Standard’ tier a “degraded product”.

“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,”

As noted by the source, this latest filing is part of an “ongoing appeal lodged by the FTC” after the district court did not block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year. And although Microsoft sealed the $68.7 billion dollar acquisition in October 2023, “the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals still hasn’t ruled FTC’s appeal”.

What are your thoughts about the FTC’s response to this latest news? How are you feeling a week later about the new prices and subscription tier? Let us know in the comments.

Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He’s been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. He’s also got a soft spot for Sonic the Hedgehog.

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