- Xbox recently announced a price hike for its subscription service.
- The FTC then accused Microsoft of downgrading its service.
- Microsoft has offered its own response, stating that the FTC’s letter was misleading.
Microsoft recently increased the prices of all Xbox Game Pass tiers and introduced a new tier. The fandom didn’t like this change, but even more price hikes are expected soon, in addition to a potential ad-based tier.
The FTC also commented on the price hike. It said that Xbox has made the subscription service worse, but Microsoft disagrees with this sentiment in its latest reply.
Why it matters: Game Pass prices are going up. This was already expected after Call of Duty was announced for the service, so the FTC has valid concerns.
In a new filing report spotted by The Verge, Microsoft stated that the FTC’s statement on the subscription service is misleading and gives an extra-record account for the facts. The gaming giant believes that calling the new tier a downgrade is wrong.
“It is wrong to call this [Xbox Game Pass Standard] a “degraded” version of the discontinued Game Pass for Console offering.”
-Microsoft
Microsoft has gone to an extra length, calling out the FTC for making such harsh claims.
It justified the price hike by saying that the discontinued product didn’t offer multiplayer functionality. As such, users would have to buy multiplayer access for an extra $9.99 per month, which would have cost them $20.98 per month.
Microsoft also justifies the Game Pass Ultimate price hike by saying that this tier will have many more day-one releases, and it marks the first time Call of Duty has ever come to a subscription service. Therefore, as per the giant, these price hikes are justified.
Microsoft mentions that the focus of the previous trial was that Microsoft could keep the Call of Duty games off of PlayStation consoles.
The giant has also highlighted that FTC has now shifted its focus toward the price hike, but it failed to understand that it is a common practice for businesses to change service offerings over time, given their worth.
Microsoft argues that Call of Duty isn’t being withheld from anyone who wants it, and there is no proper evidence from FTC that Microsoft is harming the competition.
It seems like Microsoft has made its point well. While fans may still find the price hike questionable, Microsoft seems content with the current status of Game Pass and its many tiers.
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