The FTC is worried that Microsoft’s Game Pass might be getting worse, but Microsoft strongly denies FTC claims of a “degraded” version.
Microsoft’s recently made some changes to Xbox Game Pass that have resulted in criticism from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The tech giant recently increased the prices of all Game Pass tiers and also introduced a new tier, “Standard”. However, this has not gone down well with either the fans or the FTC as FTC claims that this new change has resulted in degradation of the Xbox service.
FTC Claims Xbox’s Price Hike Has Made Subscription Service Worse
The FTC is unhappy with the fee increases and the introduction of the brand new Game Pass Standard tier, which no longer consists of day-one access to the first-party Xbox video games. The FTC referred to this new tier as a “degraded product” because the new customers will have to pay $14.99 for the Game Pass Standard, which incorporates online multiplayer but lacks day-one access to the new games. Earlier this feature was included in the $10.99 Game Pass for the Console.
In a filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the FTC stated, “Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation — combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs — are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger.”
The FTC argues that removing fan-favored and precious games and raising charges to the service harms purchasers, aligning with their ongoing appeal towards Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft’s Response to FTC’s New Claims
Microsoft has firmly disagreed with the FTC’s criticisms. In a current submission noticed by The Verge, Microsoft argued that the FTC’s description of the new Game Pass tier as “degraded” is misleading. Microsoft insists that the brand new tier isn’t a downgrade, highlighting that the discontinued $10.99 Game Pass for Console did not include multiplayer capability. Subscribers had to pay a further $9.99 for multiplayer, totaling $20.98 in a single month.
Microsoft additionally defended the rate increase of the Game Pass Ultimate tier by stating that it now consists of extra day-one releases, highlighting the first-time addition of Call of Duty to the subscription provider.
The organization firmly asserted that price adjustments are a common commercial enterprise practice and with their new changes they are helping different users and players get access to the Call of Duty game.
Well, FTC’s claims about Microsoft’s price hikes have added to the ongoing investigation of the company’s business practices following its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on the FTC’s appeal against this merger, and these new claims may add some new twist to it.
While fans would possibly still be upset about the price increases, Microsoft believes the adjustments are justified and the current price structure of Game Pass offers good value to its users.
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