“Misleading, extra-record account”: Xbox and Microsoft Hit Back at the FTC Over Xbox Game Pass Comments
Xbox has submitted a clarification for its Game Pass decision, but failed to satisfy players.
Microsoft has been going through a roller-coaster ride right now. Some of its announcements and decisions have been brutally criticized by the community. However, one of the most controversial decisions Xbox has made is the price increase and tier-removal decision for Game Pass. The consequence has gone too far, and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a report against it.
Of course, Microsoft hasn’t been sitting quietly, and it has prepared its weapons to fight back these allegations. A recent report from Microsoft has presented the counters it has launched to defend its Game Pass re-structuring decision.
FTC Filed a Report Calling Microsoft Game Pass Re-Structuring Misleading and Degraded
Since Microsoft announced its decision to increase the price of Xbox Game Pass, it has created a mixed reaction among players, and most are criticizing it. This announcement hit hard, and players got severely angry, mostly for two reasons.
First, they are not happy with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now becoming $19.99 instead of $16.99 per month. Secondly, they are angry because Microsoft removed the Game Pass Console tier, and in its place, it has brought the Xbox Game Pass Standard for $14.99. Most importantly, this tier doesn’t allow them access to Day 1 games.
This controversy went a step further when the US Federal Trade Commission stepped in and filed a report where it addressed the increase in price issue and said,
“This product costs 36% more than the Console Game Pass and withholds day-one releases. Product degradation – removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service – combined with price increases for existing users is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged.”
Microsoft, of course, hasn’t gobbled these up without any protest, and according to the latest updates, it has presented a report that justifies its decision.
Microsoft Defended Its Game Pass Re-Structuring in Latest Report
When the report from the FTC came to light, most Xbox players supported the allegations it brought against Xbox. However, whether they are supporting Microsoft or not, everyone eagerly looks forward to knowing how Microsoft counters these.
The latest X post by Tom Warren clarified all the doubts and published the images of two reports. First is the report that the FTC filed, and the second is the report that Microsoft submitted in self-defense.
In its report, Microsoft has denied all the allegations FTC brought against it and stated,
“It is wrong to call this a “degraded” version of the discontinued Game Pass for Console offering…Among them is the upcoming release of Call of Duty, which has never before been available on a subscription service day-and-date.”
Changes are kind of inevitable, and not all changes are accepted willingly. In the case of Xbox Game Pass, players won’t have any option but to accept the increased price to continue their gameplay experiences, even though the improvement part seems vague.
However, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is coming to Xbox, and there’s no promotion of the beta on Microsoft’s console, while PlayStation has already started showing it on the home screen.
