Earlier this month, Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass and launched a new game subscription service. The new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier gives players a library of hundreds of games and all the benefits of Game Pass Core, including online console multiplayer, but most importantly will not include new first-party games on launch day. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) criticized the Game Pass pricing increase in a court filing last week, calling the new subscription tiers a “downgrade.” Now, the Xbox parent company has responded to the FTC’s claims, calling them “misleading.”
Microsoft responds to FTC
In a new court filing on Friday, Microsoft said it was wrong to call the new Standard tier a “downgraded” version of the discontinued Game Pass for Console tier. “This discontinued product does not offer multiplayer functionality and must be purchased separately for an additional $9.99 per month (total cost $20.98/month),” Microsoft argued in the filing.
The new Xbox Game Pass Standard package offers hundreds of games and a catalog of online multiplayer games for $14.99 (approximately Rs. 1,251). Microsoft said in the filing that its Game Pass Ultimate tier will provide more value to players with “daily updates” of new games, including the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
FTC Filings
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday called the new standard tier a “downgraded” product. “The product costs 36% more than Console Game Pass and won’t launch on day one. Product downgrades – removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service – coupled with price increases for existing customers, is exactly this kind of harm to consumers.” [Microsoft-Activision] merger alleged by the FTC,” the FTC said in its filing.
In its response, Microsoft called the FTC’s letter to the court a “misleading, additional record of factual characterization” and said regulators made little mention of the Game Pass subscription service during the FTC v. Microsoft trial last year in the company’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, the maker of “Call of Duty”. Microsoft says it’s common for companies to change service offerings over time, and its new Game Pass tiers don’t deter users who want to play Call of Duty games.
Additionally, Microsoft noted that Sony’s PlayStation Plus game subscription service continues to “thriving,” despite the company offering only a handful of games at launch.
Earlier this month, Microsoft increased the prices of Game Pass Ultimate, Xbox Game Pass Core, and PC Game Pass, and stopped offering console Game Pass to new subscribers. The new Game Pass Standard tier will launch in the coming months, offering hundreds of games and a catalog of online console multiplayer games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will launch on the first day of Game Pass launch on October 25th. However, Standard level members do not have access to the game through their subscription.
