It has been a while since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard. It was a pretty big deal, 69 billion dollars big. While they were going about their deal, it didn’t sit well with many people. Soon, Microsoft saw an Antitrust lawsuit filed against them by some gamers. However, the lawsuit has now been settled.
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Microsoft And The $69 Billion Antitrust Lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, Activision Blizzard would prioritize Xbox versions of multiplatform titles, raise pricing, or discontinue some games if Microsoft were to acquire the company. In particular, there was worry about how the takeover may affect Game Pass users.
Game Pass saw a major alteration when Activision Blizzard was successfully acquired by Microsoft in 2023. Activision Blizzard games have been gradually added to the subscription program, but Game Pass has also undergone a restructuring.
Big-ticket titles like Diablo 4, Starfield, and Call of Duty are now exclusive to the more costly Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass memberships, and day-one releases are no longer included in Game Pass’ updated basic tier. Microsoft has also upped the cost of Game Pass. The most recent hike was in July when Xbox Game Pass Ultimate went from costing $16.99 to $19.99 a month.
The FTC criticised Microsoft’s Game Pass pricing increases, which also branded the new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product.” With its contentious modifications to Game Pass, the FTC asserted that Microsoft was “exercising market power post-merger” of Activision Blizzard.
