A new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit takes aim at the recent Xbox Game Pass price increase, arguing that it justifies “Congress’s approach to temporarily suspending mergers in order to fully assess their likely competitive effects.”
The filing argues that the price increase, announced on July 9, is “inconsistent” with arguments made in Xbox’s lawsuit before the FTC last year. In analyzing the new, revised service, the FTC filing describes the new Standard tier as a “degraded product” that holds back day-one releases while representing an increase over the original Game Pass Console tier.
“The product degradation—the removal of Microsoft’s most valuable games from its new service—combined with price increases for existing users is exactly the type of harm the merger will cause consumers, the FTC says,” the filing reads. It also notes that the price increase coincides with the addition of Call of Duty to the most expensive category.
As announced last week, the newly revamped Xbox Game Pass will be increasing the price of the Ultimate tier from $16.99 to $19.99 per month, along with a host of other changes. The price increase was described as inevitable by analysts interviewed by IGN, with some predicting that Game Pass will eventually see the introduction of ads. These changes are reportedly part of an effort by Xbox to recoup some of its $69 billion investment in Activision Blizzard.
While the deal with Activision Blizzard was officially closed on October 13, 2023, FTC Continues to Argue that the courts were wrong when they ruled in Microsoft’s favor in 2023. In February, the FTC also complained that Microsoft’s 1,900 layoffs in its video game business contradicted its statements in the antitrust trial.
IGN has reached out to Xbox for a response to the FTC complaint. The price increase will go into effect for existing members on September 12.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Got a tip? Send her a private message at @the_katbot.