Activision-Blizzard buyout is 'harming both gamers and developers' – Lina Khan

Game Pass Value, Pricing, and Sustainability

• Many see Game Pass as exceptionally good value, especially for heavy players or lapsed gamers returning after a decade and wanting to sample a large catalog.
• Others argue it only makes sense if you play a lot of big-budget titles; for casual players or people mainly interested in cheaper indies, buying outright on Steam is better.
• Several commenters compare it to early Netflix: great introductory pricing used to build market share, followed by inevitable price hikes and plan fragmentation.
• Disagreement over whether past pricing was “predatory” and subsidized or actually profitable; critics note Microsoft doesn’t disclose full economics, and that Game Pass appears to cannibalize game sales (e.g., Call of Duty).
• Some call Game Pass “the worst thing to happen to gaming,” saying it devalues games, incentivizes shovelware, and encourages players to drop anything challenging because there’s always another title to try.
• Others say it revolutionized how they play and remains a fair deal even at higher prices.

Steam, Windows, and Linux/Proton

• Strong sentiment that Steam’s existence and Valve’s wealth/independence block Microsoft’s usual “buy the platform” play.
• Valve’s investment in SteamOS/Proton is framed as an insurance policy against Windows store lock-in; opinions differ on whether it’s “indistinguishable” from Windows, but many report surprisingly good performance, sometimes better than native ports.
• Some praise Steam (and especially Proton + Steam Deck) for making PC/Linux gaming viable; others see Steam as a rent-seeking middleman and worry about long-term lock-in if its business model changes.
• GoG’s DRM-free model is repeatedly cited as safer than either Steam or subscriptions.

Consolidation, Activision-Blizzard, and Antitrust

• Several argue Activision-Blizzard was already in bad shape (microtransactions, layoffs, creative decline) and would likely have produced similar negative outcomes without the acquisition.
• Others say tying together a massive publisher and a platform holder inevitably worsens bargaining power and risks for gamers and developers, even if the exact counterfactual is unknowable.
• A common view is that the deal probably didn’t help gamers, but may mostly be Microsoft “wasting its own money” and saddling Xbox with a struggling asset.
• There’s debate on whether blocking the deal would have been justified anti-trust: some see strong existing competition (Sony, Nintendo, Steam, Epic) and call blocking “overreach”; others think regulators are too slow and too tightly bound to narrow price/layoff metrics to act effectively.

Engines, AAA Fatigue, and Industry Health

• Mixed views on consolidation around Unity and Unreal: some say standardization improved tools and middleware; many others complain about technical issues (performance, ghosting, over-reliance on upscaling/frame generation), aesthetic sameness, and industry dependence on closed platforms.
• Several commenters express fatigue with AAA output in general, describing it as bloated, creatively tired, and dominated by monetization concerns rather than innovation.