Microsoft has responded to the US Federal Trade Commission's claims about Xbox Game Pass subscription price hikes

Today we reported that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has responded to the Xbox Game Pass subscription fee hike and criticised Microsoft's actions, stressing that the FTC warned of its potential harm to consumers at the litigation stage of the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.

Microsoft issued a statement in response, in which it clarified its position.

Here's What We Know

The US corporation's lengthy letter boils down to the following:

1. The new tariff Xbox Game Pass Standard is incorrectly called a degraded version of Game Pass for consoles, because by choosing it, users get access to multiplayer features, for which previously it was necessary to pay an additional $10 per month.
2. The $3 per month increase in the cost of Game Pass Ultimate is due to the large selection of games, which will include all the new releases, including the new Call of Duty.
3. The main controversy surrounding Activision's acquisition of Blizzard has centred around Microsoft's potential ability to block the release of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles, but firstly, that won't happen, and secondly, the issue is irrelevant to Game Pass pricing.

In the letter, Microsoft notes:

While the FTC has now attempted to shift its focus to the alleged subscription market, its letter is inconsistent with the arguments below. Leaving aside the fact that companies typically change their service offerings over time, the FTC's arguments in all alleged markets have always been based on vertical foreclosure, i.e., that Microsoft would hide Call of Duty from competitors and thereby harm competition. But even in the alleged subscription market, Call of Duty is not hidden from all comers.

For the sake of objectivity, we note that in 2023 Microsoft did promise not to raise the cost of Game Pass subscription, but now the corporation delicately avoids this topic and does not comment on it.

Source: Microsoft