Xbox Game Pass: Has Microsoft Blown a Hole in the 'Best Deal' Narrative?

AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·

Xbox Game Pass: Has Microsoft Blown a Hole in the 'Best Deal' Narrative?

Xbox Game Pass prices are climbing, and former FTC chair Lina Khan suggests it's because post-Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft has become 'too-big-to-care,' an observation that's seeing players cancel subscriptions and casts a skeptical shadow on corporate promises.

Right, so remember when Microsoft was trying to woo regulators (and us, by extension) into letting them gobble up Activision Blizzard? They were all 'this is for the players, fair dinkum, prices won't budge mate.' Well, fast-forward a bit, and it seems that digital magic trick might have fizzled out, or worse, turned into a price hike spell that backfired right onto our wallets. The latest word on the street, initially reported by Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, suggests that the Xbox Game Pass, once hailed as the 'best deal in gaming,' is getting a bit more expensive. And wouldn't you know it, a former big shot from the FTC is pointing fingers, claiming Microsoft's just become 'too-big-to-care'.

Bloody hell, that Activision Blizzard acquisition was a wild ride, wasn't it? A colossal $68.7 billion — enough to make a dragon blush — and the biggest company buyout in video game history. The US Federal Trade Commission, spearheaded at the time by its chair, Lina Khan, wasn't exactly throwing confetti. They reckoned this mega-merger would 'harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets,' which, looking back, sounds less like a doomsayer's prophecy and more like a clever wizard reading digital tea leaves.

Microsoft, bless their corporate little hearts, told us in 2023 that Game Pass subscription prices *wouldn't* increase as a direct result of the merger. It was a firm promise, a handshake across the digital divide. Fast forward to now, and Game Pass prices are indeed on the rise, with Game Pass Ultimate reportedly seeing a whopping 50 percent hike. That's not a minor adjustment; that's like finding half your gold coins have magically vanished after you just bought a new potion. It certainly makes you wonder about the sincerity of those initial claims, doesn't it?

This is where Lina Khan re-enters the fray, mate. Having stepped down from her FTC chair position at the start of 2025, she's now free to comment with a bit more… shall we say, candor. Responding to the rising cost of Game Pass on social media, Khan didn't pull any punches. 'Microsoft's acquisition of Activision has been followed by significant price hikes and layoffs, harming both gamers and developers,' she stated. And here’s the kicker: 'As dominant firms become too-big-to-care, they can make things worse for their customers without having to worry about the consequences.' It's a stark observation, isn't it? Like a giant, lumbering through a village, not noticing the tiny homes it’s crushing underfoot.

Remember when the FTC finally dropped its case against Microsoft in May of this year? Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith declared it 'a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, DC.' A victory, he said. Well, if losing your hard-earned cash to a subscription price hike and seeing developer friends laid off is a 'victory for players,' then I reckon my definition of winning needs a serious magical overhaul. It feels less like a victory parade and more like the celebratory fireworks accidentally setting the village on fire.

The numbers don't lie, even if the marketing sometimes bends the truth. Eurogamer's report notes that these price increases come despite Microsoft racking up record revenue from subscriptions last year, and following a hardware price increase in the US. And surprise, surprise, some players are already choosing to cancel their Game Pass subscriptions. Can you blame 'em? When the value proposition starts to tilt, when the 'best deal' begins to feel like a 'well, it *used* to be a deal,' gamers are gonna vote with their wallets. We're a savvy bunch, mate, we can spot a vanishing act when we see one.

This isn't just about Game Pass, is it? It’s a microcosm of a larger trend in the gaming industry – consolidation. When a few behemoths get their hands on a significant chunk of the market, the very competition that drives innovation and keeps prices fair can wither. It raises fundamental questions for us gamers: How much faith can we put in corporate promises when the ink's barely dry on a merger? What happens when a company truly becomes 'too-big-to-care'? Will innovation stagnate? Will player choice diminish? We’ve seen this pattern before in other industries, and it rarely bodes well for the little guy – or in this case, the everyday gamer just trying to enjoy their bloody hobby. I’m always curious about the silver lining, the path forward, but these recent moves make me wonder if we’re heading down a rather expensive, less-player-friendly rabbit hole. Maybe it's time to keep a closer eye on those indie devs doing truly innovative stuff; they might just be the ones casting the real counter-spells. For the full report, check out Ed Nightingale's original article on Eurogamer.

Tags: XboxGamePass, Microsoft, ActivisionBlizzard, GamingIndustry, SubscriptionServices

Original article: Eurogamer