FTC blasts Microsoft’s new ‘degraded’ Xbox Game Pass Standard tier and price increases

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has blasted Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass terms increases in a filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Microsoft revealed past week that it’s increasing PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prices, and readying to motorboat a caller Game Pass Standard tier soon without time 1 entree to first-party Xbox games.

The FTC calls this caller Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product,” due to the fact that caller Game Pass users won’t beryllium capable to motion up to the $10.99 Game Pass for Console, which includes time 1 crippled access. Instead, Xbox Game Pass Standard volition beryllium priced astatine $14.99 and won’t see time 1 games, but volition see online multiplayer.

“Microsoft’s terms increases and merchandise degradation — combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments successful output and merchandise prime via worker layoffs — are the hallmarks of a steadfast exercising marketplace powerfulness post-merger,” says FTC successful a filing today. “Product degradation — removing the astir invaluable games from Microsoft’s caller work — combined with terms increases for existing users, is precisely the benignant of user harm from the merger the FTC has alleged.”

The filing is portion of an ongoing entreaty lodged by the FTC against a district court’s determination not to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition past year. Microsoft finalized its $68.7 cardinal woody successful October, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals inactive hasn’t ruled connected the FTC’s entreaty yet.