“The FTC warned”: the American regulator called the increase in the price of Game Pass and the tariff without games at release “product degradation”

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), still trying to challenge the deal between Microsoft and publisher Activision Blizzard in an appeals court, commented on recent changes to the Game Pass subscription.

Image source: Steam (Grinchark)

Let’s remember that last week Microsoft announced an increase in the cost of Game Pass worldwide, the elimination of the ability to sign up for a plan for consoles and the introduction of an Xbox Game Pass Standard plan without games on release day.

In a new filing with the court, the FTC called the incident a “product degradation”: new users will not be able to join the $11 Xbox Game Pass for consoles, and Xbox Game Pass Standard ($15) does not include Microsoft’s most valuable games.

«”Removing Microsoft’s most valuable games from the new subscription, coupled with higher prices for current users, is the same harm to consumers from the [Microsoft-Activision Blizzard] merger that the FTC warned about,” the regulator said.

Image Source: Activision

The FTC emphasized that the increase in the price of Game Pass coincided with the addition of Call of Duty to Game Pass, and the console tariff will disappear shortly before the premiere of the newest game in the series – Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, released on October 25.

«”Microsoft promised that the deal would benefit consumers by making [Call of Duty] available on Game Pass the same day it launches on consoles (without increasing the cost of the service based on the [Activision Blizzard] acquisition),” the FTC said.

Previously, the FTC filed a complaint with the appeal court due to the wave of layoffs announced at the end of January in Microsoft’s gaming division. The platform holder responded by saying that the regulator “continues to ignore reality.”

admin

Share
Published by
admin

Recent Posts

Apple to Change OS Numbering: iOS 26 to Come This Year Instead of iOS 19

Apple is preparing a large-scale rebranding of its line of operating systems. This was reported…

21 hours ago

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has matched Skyrim in sales, and every third Cyberpunk 2077 owner has bought the Phantom Liberty add-on

The cult open-world action role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which recently celebrated its…

21 hours ago

Analysts predict absurd surge in PC sales due to Trump’s indiscriminate tariffs

IDC analysts unexpectedly concluded that the current unstable tariff policy of the US administration will…

21 hours ago

Adata XPG Mars 980 Blade PCIe 5.0 SSD Review: Affordable SM2508 Flagship

The first consumer SSDs with PCIe 5.0 interface appeared on the market about two years…

21 hours ago

Electronic Arts to Focus on Key Franchises — Black Panther Action Game Cancelled, Cliffhanger Games Studio Closed

The IGN portal, citing internal correspondence from Electronic Arts, reported that the American publisher has…

21 hours ago

Study: Apple C1 mobile modem falls short of Qualcomm modems in terms of connection quality in difficult conditions

A study by Cellular Insights Inc. found that Qualcomm's mobile modems perform better than Apple's…

2 days ago