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.
Comments 64
My thoughts are that I don't want to pay more money for the same service.
@ATaco Yeah, if they are gonna price hike, they should at least offer new features or something
@ATaco wouldn’t mind if we were getting the same service but they’re having issues at the moment. Can’t play No Man’s Sky on my Xbox.
Not to mention Microsoft’s cert process means we don’t even get the v5 game like other platforms.
Grumble, grumble…
I mean, they’re not wrong that Xbox was doing a bunch of lip service to pass the merger…
And what about the other entertainment subscriptions that keep raising their prices?
The FTC still appealing the courts decision from years ago is a hallmark of government waste. I hope the next administration cleans house.
The way things are going, the FTC better pad their resumes before October. Why don't these guys go after cable companies?
@ALK stop defending trillion dollar companies. They do not care about you in the slightest.
It’s impossible to deny they said they weren’t going to increase prices to regulators and then have effectively doubled the lowest price point to Day 1 Game Pass games in the last year from $10 to $20. The rest is scuttlebutt
@ALK they didn’t promise regulators, several times, that they weren’t going to raise prices in order to get a deal approved. Microsoft haven’t just raised prices they have doubled the cost of Day 1 games.
The irony of a government trillions of dollars in debt telling a trillion dollar company how run their company.
The FTC again fails to explain its reasoning that microsoft is "dominating" the market. Gamepass is not required to play any of the abk or xbox games. They are still available as stand alone purchases, still available on more platforms than before the acquisition. How are they exercising market power when the service is flat out struggling to gain new subs? People can walk away from gamepass and have the same console experience they have been having before gamepass. And using layoffs is a laughable excuse to argue this bad take of theirs. Are they pretending that the entire games industry hasn't been rocked by budget cuts and layoffs across the board since their little court loss?
I'll keep doing what I've been doing since the Series X came out - subscribe when games I want to play are on the service and unsubscribe when I'm caught up. I just paid $9.99 to play through Hellblade 2, Wasteland 3, Still Wakes the Deep, Botany Manor and some cat indie game. Incredible value! I'll re subscribe when Indiana Jones comes out and no doubt catch up on Stalker 2 and other titles too.
i remember when MS tried to be slick by raising the price of gamepass before the trial since doing it afterward would raise scrutiny of the acquisition. the fact that they would do it again before blackops drops on gamepass was ballsy move. "bold strategy cotton lets see how it pays off for them."
Meh. If the FTC didn't spend 1 to 2 years just taking everything that Sony said as gospel then it would of likely worked out better for MS and Xbox.
Everyone has to personally determine if Game Pass is worth it to them or not. I don't like the price hikes either, but at the same time I feel like Game Pass is still incredible value.
At least for me nothing comes close in terms of value for entertainment. What else am I going to do for fun? Streaming services are trash with few good content. And going out into the real world for fun costs serious bucks worse inflation issues! Just going to my local amusement park one day admission = 2x GPU monthly price, parking = 1.5x GPU + a foot long hot dog/fries/drink = 1x GPU + gas. It's like I can go out for one day of fun in the real world or get half a year of GPU entertainment.
I could go on... going to a major league game, concert, theatre, going out for dinner + drinks, etc. To me GPU is cheap compared to alternatives.
Tom warren does paid concern trolling,and ftc should stop hunting American companies ffs
FTC 🤦 Complaints about Price Hike, silent at Lego Horizon Adventures missing Xbox and nothing else 😅
@pip_muzz but Lego didn’t promise not to do things to get a $70billion deal through?
There’s a little bit of a difference.
I guess the day one thing is the biggest black mark for when they didn't have games it was fine. now that they have a bunch of things coming down the line they jack up prices. It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep thinking subs are going to grow forever I think keeping us easier than getting but Microsoft is run by the devil.
@pip_muzz is this your definition of an apples to apples comparison?
@ALK other companies weren’t giving lip service to try and get an acquisition passed by saying they wouldn’t increase prices and lay people off.
@pip_muzz This has to be one of the wildest, most reaching defences of Microsoft I have seen in the 4 odd years I have been coming to this site and that is honestly saying something. Do you really believe a single Lego game not coming to Xbox is equal to a 69billion deal which has resulted in thousands of layoffs and price hikes up to 100%? Is that the hill you want to die on in defence of the lies MS has told and the promises they have backtracked on?
Despite some comments here; wasn’t Xbox’s promise that they wouldn’t raise the prices as a result of the acquisition. They never said prices wouldn’t go up at all. All services increase prices, most of them annually! So they just have to show it wasn’t because of the acquisition…
Also it’s crazy there are still people like 6 years later debating if Gamepass is worth it or not even though we all have different tastes and time to play games. So thick. But I assume it will never end at this point.
The FTC are only pointing out Microsoft doing the opposite of what they have told regulators it wouldn't do....
@K1LLEGAL I think most rational people can accept that prices might go up, and they did rise $1 - $2 (About 15%) last year depending on the tier you are on. But they have now literally doubled the price of Day 1 Game Pass since acquiring ABK with this restructuring from $10 to $20. That is much harder to argue it wasn't a result of ABK, when it never doubled before in one year.
I have no doubt they are covered legally with all the slippery language they use and creative accounting, but that doesn't mean we have to suck it up. There is also the intent of what they were saying, which they have NOT stuck to at all.
@pip_muzz
I know it's not Lego Horizon but if Concord's early beta numbers are anything to go by, then Sony might port that over to other platforms 😉😅..
@K1LLEGAL
A price rise a couple of months before the new CoD releases, change in tier system. No back titles added from ABK deal yet. The price rise within less than a year of the deal completed.
But sure believe it isn’t ABK deal etc.
@Sol4ris Sony might have to pay other platforms to put it on there!
The standard teir is Microsofts way of trying to get people to continue subbing when the pastures are lean. I would benefit from Standard as I don't game on PC & my internet is crap in rural Scotland to play on XCloud. So day 1 & the vast amount of titles makes Ultimate for me.
So if like lately all the good 1st party day 1's are at the last few months of the year. I could lower to standard & then upgrade to ultimate when the games I want to play hit the service.
Or if there is a handful of titles keep standard & buy the games I want.
Nothing wrong with more choice. As until Microsoft get to there 1st party title every quarter promise. Standard could be descent alternative to just canceling it outright.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner
Don't be a hater mate. I mean, Halo lnfinite is not exactly a trailblazer in that department either😉, and I'm saying this as someone who likes and regularly plays the mp part.
what confuses me is the majority on this site would defend MS to the hilt to say GP was obviously sustainable only to bend over backwards to defend the need to double day 1 gaming prices? It can't be both.
It's obvious the growth has stagnated (and likely reached it maximum) so instead of having more people on the same price they need to have the same number on higher prices - even though they were obviously sustainable already. So in other words the trillions they make for their investors wasn't enough so they need to squeeze more out of us.
What happens when people stop subscribing because they either played most of the games available or just believe the service is value for money anymore?
I guess the big hail mary for them is when they make CoD exclusive in 10 years and throw all their eggs into that one basket?
@WhiteRabbit
it’s also easy to get internet points here for calling out Sony for anything unrelated
Yep, and that's how GamePass gets paid for, the internet points get converted into Microsoft rewards points😉.
Price rises are expected, the price of everything is out of control. Creating a new tier and locking out day 1 games is much more dubious imo.
I would hope the market will dictate at some point, if the price gets too high people will start dropping off, I don’t think we’re there just yet but it’s highly possibly it’ll happen in the next couple of years. Falling numbers is the only thing that’ll make them react.
@Sol4ris im front and centre of the hate queue. And I don’t MP. But who is going to spend £40 on it when everything Similar is free?
@WhiteRabbit
ah, so that’s why GamePass is worthless
Most things are worthless! It's all about perspective and attachment...what are you, using your Internet points for?
@ALK I'm guessing you're just being willfully blind about complaints about those to?
I went from personally paying 5 streaming subscriptions to 1.
@K1LLEGAL What is crazy in the least? The fact that different people have different criteral for what constitutes value?
With the amount I consume, the new price increase simply makes Gamepass pointless for me.
For example, prior to Kumitsu Gami, the last thing on Gamepass I played was Starfield.
The only reason I even have Gamepass right now is because it was cheaper than just buying gold because of the 1:1 conversion.
Meanwhile I can play anything on PC or VR for less, without cost of online to play
@WhiteRabbit
Well, that's impressive. Especially if you did that after stocking up on PlayStation Stars😅...
Degraded - yet arguably getting 'more' games...
The argument that Game Pass on Console (Standard) now not offering 'Day 1' I guess could be considered a 'Downgrade', but on the other hand, the addition of Game Pass Core is perhaps an upgrade as that alone allows gamers to play far more content.
I'd argue that situation was far worse before - If you bought Game Pass Console to play games 'Day 1', you'd still not get to play a LOT of Content unless you also added Game Pass Core. Get sold on the 'promise' of playing CoD BO6 'Day 1', yet find out you need to also add another Subscription just to play 'online'
Now it's Simple - a standard and regular structure that is understood - Tier 1, Tier 2 (Tier 1+ Extras) and Tier 3 (tier 2 + extras), where the tier above includes 'everything' from the tier Below. So instead of getting Day 1 from the tier 'above' as Game Pass Console was, its now effectively getting Gold, now Game Pass Core from below.
When MS had 'Gold', for 'online' gaming, that was NOT included in the Game Pass Console tier,, which arguably 'pushed' Console gamers to buy 'Ultimate' instead as it combined Game Pass & Gold into one 'convenient' package. When it was 'renamed', no-one complained about 'Game Pass Core' not getting Day 1 after MS 'promised' Day 1 on 'Game Pass'. No one complained that Game Pass Console required another Subscription (Gold - then Game Pass Core) which could be confusing and misleading - how can a 'mid' tier Sub service require a 2nd sub service just to play the content you should be able to play offered in that tier - but instead it was hidden behind another paywell - Subscribe to play games with Friends/family only to find out you'll need another Subscription for that...
@InterceptorAlpha you’re making my point for me. You don’t see value in it; whilst others do. So what? Every article there needs to be a debate about it. But why can’t everyone accept that it’s not for everyone, but to a lot of people it’s great. I’m saying it’s crazy how it’s still a debate. Like I said in my last comment.
@themightyant I’m just saying from Microsoft’s perspective they are covered, yea. I never said the price rises are a good thing or it’s not obvious to us what they have done.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner when did I say it wasn’t ABK?…. 🙄
No one reading my comment apparently.
@DonkeyFantasy to be fair, the FTC never believed MS. They fought the merger and filed an appeal when they lost, as referenced in the article
Well they are correct. Massive company, price increases, and a weakened offering.
@K1LLEGAL Your point is someone isn't allowed to express an opinion or debate a subject that has existed for some time previously.
Yes every article needs, conversation, discourse, even a debate about it. That's kind of the point of the comment and discussion sections.
Without that you wind up with gaming in the sad state it is.
Additionally, please kindly provide lists of consumer subscriptions that go up anually. Because I apparently don't use those and would like to avoid them.
But just for the ones I am familiar with
Netflix has raised prices 7 times over 14 year.
PSN, including when they went from free to a fee, has raised prices 3 times over 18 years.
Including the when they started charging Nintendo has only had 3 price increases over 12 years.
Disney Plus, 2 increases in almost 6 years.
Paramount Plus, 2 increases in 6 years.
Amazon Prime, 2 increases in 19 years.
Even Xbox doesn't have annual prices increases.
I'm not defending Microsoft here, @MasterkillerX and @ATaco, but to your points about wanting something more for your increased payments, Standard, which is the point of the FTC case, does now include online play, which it did not previously. Previously, you had to have Console and Core to get the same as Standard now offers. Arguably, therefore, the service has been improved, to some extent by the addition of online, but then degraded by the removal of Day One games, so they have taken with one hand, and given with the other. It's debatable whether that particular service is better or not. It depends on how much time elapses between the release of an Xbox developed game, and it appearing on the Standard service. So, if Blade releases on Ultimate first, and then Standard 6 months later, does that make Standard a substantially worse option? I guess that is entirely subjective.
I'm not defending the price hike, just clarifying what you get for it...
I was happy here on gamepass, but then MS snuck up and moved the goal posts and pulled my trousers down. Now I am left with it flapping about in the wind like a flag.
@InterceptorAlpha but if something like Spiderman goes on sale on PSN for £52 you don’t get arguments between people about how worth it it is. People just understand that either it is worth it to them or it’s not. Everyone is so desperate to convince eachother either way about Gamepass but like.. it’s either worth it or it’s not. Simple as that (and yes that changes as prices change or new content is added etc) but Gamepass is the most debated over it’s cost over anything else in the gaming industry. That is all I was saying; it’s not that deep. In my reply to you I was clarifying because you seemed to think I was saying it’s crazy that someone might not think it’s good value (which isn’t the case; everyone is different).
Annual price increases happen for things like Sky. Maybe I was including others that are less relevant like my phone contract (Vodafone, also annual). But the point is prices still rise for services (inflation etc).
It was the same with Layoffs, where (and this was everyone’s damn fault) there should have been a conversation between Microsoft, the FTC, and the courts about what Layoffs and Price rises were due to occur regardless of the acquisition going through or not. So they could establish a baseline.
They are not wrong but did they have the same energy when PS+ went up hard? I got it still cheap so I'm not complaining personally but normally if a sub has a 2nd price increase, I unsub, since it's usually not just one doing it.
Tbh, I can't afford all those subs anymore either ... Everything gets a price hike in life (food, gas, electricity, ... ) and if your wages get an extra, it's never that high so at the end, you lose every time.
There are households that have 4 GP subs but the Family Plan is still discontinued. Xbox should throw some more positive stuff (showcase) between the negative stuff (layoffs and closing down studios, 2 price hikes etc.) because MSM are always harder on them.
Got my first 3 months included with my series s. First time i renewed was by using M$ points. If it ever gets to the point i have to actually pay ill cease using the service lol.
I am not going to defend what MS did. To me, it is not good.
But, the FTC is full of BS here. The reason behind this has nothing to do with MS market power. This is a trend we are seeing through the industry. Almost every subscription I subscribe to including, Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Nest, etc has gone up in price over the past six months. There was this little thing called inflation over the past two years. Companies have to pay their employees more because of it, and we all know the companies are not going to swallow that increase, they are going to pass it on to consumers. These are the simple facts.
I don't like it, but that is how the economy works.
@BamBamBaklava89 Enjoy paying 20 bucks for an Ad tier down the line then.
Was waiting for this and this time, I'm glad to see it happened. FTC is 100% right here. MS lied point blank to regulators faces that they were not going to raise prices for this, and then pivoted the moment the teacher wasn't watching and did precisely that. They didn't even give it a year to PRETEND it wasn't related. Didn't even try to create plausible deniability. They just pivoted and did it right there. And not just a $1 increase, but 25% on ultimate, 50% on lowest tier, all ONE YEAR, immediately after saying to regulators they wouldn't.
I still believe this will bite them. Not Xbox. The next time MS finds themselves in front of FTC trying to buy some AI tech or cloud provider. This is an entire ammo crate to use against anything they say.
EVERYONE should ABSOLUTELY be calling out Microsoft for game pass price gouge!
@Sol4ris Or just nuke it. Surely just stopping it and cancelling it would be still cheaper then having to start development on a series s version in late 2024? When do you want the game be ready for, 2025/2026 like most of Xbox's own development hell, half a decade still coming, 1st party games this gen? 😬😅😆😬🤣😆😅😆
That's the REALITY of the joke you think you just made.
And for what? 5 more players on Xbox?
Just nuke Concord, like I begged since its first announcement years ago.
And the FTC didn't see this coming when they allowed the merger to proceed?? Even a blind man could see it was coming. No good complaining about it after you had a hand in allowing it to happen. Whatever lies Xbox told in their appeals, gamers knew it was all B.S, but as usual money talks.
We can all have our views on gp worth, but that has little to do with the article or the point the ftc are making. In arguing for the aquisition, Microsoft made some commitments that they didnt keep. Microsoft lied. Its like saying the sun came up... they continually lie and have done so since the 80s.
For the record, I still see GP as the biggeset value in gaming for someone who consumes many games, like myself. Its pretty self evident. However, it has completely devalued new games and I firmly believe it is partially responsable for many studios closing due to poor sales - most xbox users when presented with a good new game say 'Ill wait for it to come to GP.' Cant say I blame them.
However, as a personal choice, and as these lay offs affect many of my old freinds and colleagues, I chose to not renew my sub last september, and now I even buy gp games elsewhere rather than sub for a month..my choice.
Why doesn't the FTC go after major utilities and insurance companies who have been hugely increasing their rates? Why is all of their outrage focused on some video game service that is totally not needed?
@JayJ Unfortunately it's a different regulatory body for utilities and insurance separately. And they're mostly made up of revolving doors of the very executives of the very oligopolies - CFO of Allstate one year, PUC comissioner the next year, then CFO of State Farm a few years later...... No conflicts of interest there at all, nooooo......
FTC only has purview if one of them goes to buy another. But of course in those businesses one only buys another after the one is in bankruptcy protection and needs a buyer to float anyway.
TL;DR Everything's f-d up beyond repair, and while we wait for the inevitable and necessary nuclear armageddon required to fix it, we're going to fight tooth and nail to the brutal end for ethics and fairness in our video games we used to kill everyone in imaginary worlds to make us feel better so we don't have to do it IRL
Saw this one coming from a mile away.
Are the ftc gonna try pressure them into lowering the price? Coz if they are, I'll side with ftc hehe.
The CMA and FTC were right to scrutinise the buy out like they did, probably should have gone further. MS did state they would not increase Game Pass prices amongst other things due to the buy out. And they’ve now done the complete opposite, closed studios, laid of thousands of people in the gaming sector of the business, and increased prices. Is it any wonder the regulators will now be on their backs over this.
@Utena-mobile I said that from the start, I did think they spent so much to get King Mobile as they are making billions and it’s from the mobile market that’s worth a lot more then the console one. But it’s obvious MS is struggling to make the money back quick enough hence the studio closures, staff lay offs and restricting and price increases of the services.
Let’s not forget, they also spent 7.5 billion for Zenimax, as a department Xbox isn’t even generating anywhere near that! Let alone 69 billion! Personally I think next gen Xbox will be all digital only and will desperately be controlling prices to try and get the investment back.
@MasterkillerX that’s why I’ve been said they should’ve purchased lionsgate and tidal music to have it all together , music , film and games ….
It’s sad ftc rather have Sony and Nintendo dominate for another 10 years than see if Xbox can finally get back up in the game … seems like ftc is a foreign lover
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