Bowen and Arrond docking have revealed that the FTC is closely eyeing Microsoft following the Xbox Game Pass price increase suspecting that the company had engaged in anti- competitive conduct.
Microsoft back in the crosshairs of the FTC
In the United States, the opposite party to the American giant Microsoft has been the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that was accusing the later of monopolistic and anti-competitive conduct for the past two years. Although the merger with Activision/Blizzard has been approved recently, new amendments to the Xbox Game Pass store have revived the issue.
Xbox Game Pass and what that means The debate about Xbox Game Pass
The FTC points to the increase in the price of Xbox Game Pass and the introduction of a product deemed “degraded”: a new Standard Tier subscription ; In her words, Microsoft has shifted the ‘‘Game Pass Console’’, which was earlier available at $10. , at $9. 99 per month, with a higher tier ($14. 99) that excludes Day One releases. A practice that based on the FTC’s definition calls for consumers to be charged more for a substandard good.
Also, according to the FTC, there are the terminations of Microsoft and the shut down of several game studios, which would have had the sides resulting to reduced investment and quality of products. Such questionable decisions were made in relation to the famous studios like Tango Gactory, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Studios and Roundhouse Games. In this sense, all such actions are regarded by the FTC as ‘’an exercise of market power after a merger’’ .
Call of Duty: could be viewed as a broken promise?
Finally, the FTC points out that this price increase comes just before the launch of Call of Duty: As the sequel to last year’s Black Ops 6, here are some points to consider as the foundation. Microsoft had said this for this game that it would be a Day One launch on Xbox Game Pass. Quite clearly, it was earlier stated that getting Call of Duty on Game Pass would ‘benefit consumers’ and all other prior declarations are being dubbed into question. This is the view most subscribers hold, including the one mentioned earlier which stated that the franchise top client does not warrant this kind of price adjustment.
