Lina Khan, who led the US Federal Trade Commission when it challenged Microsoft’s planned purchase of Activision Blizzard, said on X that Microsoft’s recent job cuts and the latest Game Pass price increases are “harming both gamers and developers.” Her post came as Microsoft has been trimming staff across its gaming operations and pushed through another round of higher Game Pass prices this week, a combination Khan framed as the kind of market consolidation the FTC warned could hurt consumers.
Khan wrote that “Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been followed by significant price hikes and layoffs, harming both gamers and developers,” adding that when firms grow too dominant, they can raise prices without worrying about consequences. The comment was posted on X on October 3, 2025.
The FTC originally sued to block the deal in 2022, arguing that the acquisition was “reasonably likely to substantially lessen competition and/or tend to create a monopoly” in multiple markets. Litigation continued into 2025.
Here is the X post:
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision has been followed by significant price hikes and layoffs, harming both gamers and developers.
As we’ve seen across sectors, increasing market consolidation and increasing prices often go hand-in-hand.
As dominant firms become… https://t.co/FoI50tlEsL
— Lina Khan (@linamkhan) October 3, 2025
The deal closed in October 2023, despite the FTC’s case remaining active. Within months of the acquisition, Microsoft cut around 1,900 roles at Activision Blizzard and Xbox and cancelled a long‑awaited survival title. In September 2024, an additional 650 employees were laid off, and in July 2025, Microsoft announced approximately 9,000 layoffs across the company, which also led to game cancellations and studio closures.
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass saw a significant price increase this week, following an earlier, smaller hike in July 2024 that the FTC also criticized. Details of the recent change are outlined in the Game Pass price hike report, and the FTC’s response to the July 2024 rise is covered in a separate examination of that increase. Khan left the FTC in January 2025 when the incoming president appointed a new chair, so her comments are not a regulatory action, but they reiterate arguments the agency raised while it was formally opposing the acquisition.
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