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Microsoft say it’s “misleading” for the FTC to call the Game Pass experience “degraded” now it costs moreBecause the cheaper tier now includes multiplayer, they say
Because the cheaper tier now includes multiplayer, they say
Image credit:Activision
Image credit:Activision
Microsoft have responded to the US Federal Trade Commission’s assertion thatthe tech giant are now offering a “degraded” Game Pass experience, posing “exactly the sort of consumer harm” the FTC warned was possible in advance of theActivision Blizzard acquisition.
Nuh-uh, say Microsoft, who call the FTC’s letter “a misleading, extra-record account of the facts”.
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that the price of a PC Game Pass has risen from $9.99, €9.99 or £7.99 per month to $11.99, €11.99 and £9.99. They also introduced a new ‘Standard tier’ of Xbox Game Pass for console players, which is less expensive but doesn’t include day-one access to new games. This is what the FTC are referring to when they talk about a degraded experience.
Microsoft’s letter also argues that the FTC chose not to make the subscription service a pillar of their argument at trial, instead focusing on the possibility that Call Of Duty could be pulled from rival platforming, thus harming competition. That’s not the case, Microsoft point out, as Call Of Duty “is not being withheld from anyone who wants it”. They’re also claiming that PlayStation’s own subscription service “continues to thrive, even as they put few new games into their subscription day-and-date”.
