Microsoft decries FTC's "misleading" claims of "degraded" Game Pass

gamesindustry.biz:

Microsoft has responded to the Federal Trade Commission's complaints regarding the recent changes to Xbox Game Pass, including price increases and the discontinuation of its console-only tier.

Last week, the FTC filed a letter with the US Court of Appeals, claiming these changes are "exactly the sort of consumer harm" it warned about when fighting against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

In a letter shared by The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft's legal representatives have argued that the Commission's claims are "misleading" and "a continuation of the agency's attempts to reinvent its case on appeal."

To the FTC's primary concern – that discontinuing Game Pass for Console and introducing the new Standard tier without day-and-date launches constitutes a "degraded" product – Microsoft asserted that Standard offers more than the console-only tier previously did.

Standard, it observed, provides users with both a catalogue of Game Pass games and multiplayer functionality at $14.99 per month. Game Pass for Console previously only offered a catalogue of games, with multiplayer functionality sold separately for a total of $20.98 per month.

"It is wrong to call this a 'degraded' version of the discontinued Game Pass for Console offering," the company wrote.

Microsoft also criticised the FTC for refocusing its objections against the merger around subscriptions, a factor it said the Commission "barely mentioned at trial."

"Setting aside that it is common for businesses to change service offerings over time, the FTC's case in all [emphasis original] of its alleged markets has always been premised on vertical foreclosure, i.e. that Microsoft would withhold Call of Duty from rivals and therefore harm competition," Micrososft's letter continued.

"But even in the alleged subscription market, Call of Duty is not being withheld from anyone who wants it... And there remains no evidence anywhere of harm to competition: Sony's subscription service continues to thrive, even as they