The former chair of the FTC has commented on Microsoft’s decision last week to raise Xbox Game Pass prices, claiming the company has “become too-big-to-care”.
Microsoft’s $68.7bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard was the biggest company buyout in video game history, but was heavily opposed by America’s Federal Trade Commission, which claimed the deal would “harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets”.
Lina Khan was chair of the FTC at the time of this opposition, and has now commented on social media, responding to a post charting the rising cost of Game Pass despite Microsoft claiming in 2023 subscription prices would not increase as a result of the merger.
“Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been followed by significant price hikes and layoffs, harming both gamers and developers,” said 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.”
After appeals following the acquisition in October 2023, the FTC finally dropped its case against Microsoft in May of this year.
Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith at the time called the decision “a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, DC”.
Yet last week’s price hike for Game Pass certainly doesn’t feel like a victory for players, with many of the FTC’s resulting fears from the acquisition now seemingly coming true, as Khan has pointed out.
Khan resigned from her position at the FTC at the start of 2025.
Microsoft’s decision to increase the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by 50 percent comes despite record revenue from subscriptions last year, and follows a hardware price increase in the US.
Since the increase was announced, some players are now choosing to cancel their Game Pass subscriptions.