The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called Microsoft’s recently announced Game Pass price rises “exactly the sort of consumer harm” it tried to stop by fighting the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Following a court victory for Microsoft last year, which the FTC is currently appealing, the corporation completed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023.

The agency is continuing to submit evidence while its appeal is considered, and in a new filing on Thursday, it highlighted Microsoft’s new Game Pass tiers, which include a price increase for Ultimate and a new Standard tier that doesn’t include 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,” it wrote.

“Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation—combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs, are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger.”

The FTC’s letter goes on to note that, “Microsoft’s price increases coincide with adding Call of Duty to Game Pass’s most expensive tier, and discontinuing the Console tier will happen shortly before releasing CoD’s newest game.”

It notes that, “Microsoft promised that ‘the acquisition would benefit consumers by making [CoD] available on Microsoft’s Game Pass on the day it is released on console (with no price increase for the service based on the acquisition).’”

The agency concludes by claiming that Microsoft’s post-merger actions vindicate its earlier scepticism of promises it made regarding Game Pass.

Previously, The FTC alleged that Microsoft’s decision to make mass layoffs earlier this year contradicted previous statements it made in court about how it planned to run the Xbox business if it acquired Activision Blizzard.

Microsoft’s lawyers later responded to the FTC’s claim, saying its “factual assertions are incomplete and misleading”.

From this month, Xbox’s top Game Pass Ultimate tier will increase in price to $19.99 / £14.99 / €17.99 per month (up from $16.99 / £12.99 / €14.99). PC Game Pass will also increase in price to $11.99 / £9.99 / €11.99.

Significantly, Microsoft has retired its Xbox Game Pass for the Console tier for new users. This will soon be replaced with a new $14.99 “Standard” tier, which will include access to a back catalogue of games, and online play, but no day-one releases or cloud gaming.

Welcome to PLAYERUNKNOWN's Battlegrounds, where players will find themselves stranded on an island with up to 250 others. It's survival of the fittest; only one player can be left standing (or team in duo mode.) Begin with nothing and fight for limited resources, gear, and vehicles to survive. Scavenge over sixteen different kinds of weapons, from shotguns to assault rifles. Make use of the open-world map, exploring abandoned buildings, forests, and hills. Create and customize mods to challenge the community. Spectate and watch replays to see which player makes it out alive.

PLAYERUNKNOWN's Battlegrounds Key Features:

Battle Royale begin with nothing on an island with up to 250 players and fight to be the last one standing.
Weapon Variety choose between sixteen types of weapons, from handguns to SMGs.
Create Mods create and customize mods to challenge other players.
Open-World Island Massive game map with abandoned buildings, beaches, and hills for players to traverse.
Duo Mode Don't go in alone! Team up with a friend and be the last team standing to win!

In a way, Brendan "Playerunknown" Greene is preparing to compete with several games in a genre he essentially spawned.

Greene is the creator of Arma 2 and 3's Battle Royale mod, and he later worked with Sony Online Entertainment (now Daybreak Games) to develop a battle royale mode for their zombie survival sandbox H1Z1, which became the standalone Early Access shooter King of the Kill.

Now, Greene and Korean developer Bluehole are preparing their own entry in the battle royale arena with Battlegrounds, which is currently in closed beta after roughly a year in development.

Revealed on Xbox Wire, the new Xbox Wireless Controller is modeled after “Deadpool’s much-discussed, perfectly rounded tush.”

Microsoft called this new Xbox pad the “Cheeky Controller” and said it “channels Deadpool’s buns of steel in its firm (yet surprisingly comfortable) grip.” Check it out in all its glory in the image below:

In anticipation of Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” coming to theaters on July 26, Deadpool himself has teamed up with Xbox to design a custom Xbox Wireless Controller that everyone will want to get their hands on.

Originally Posted By Manglet⏩

Amazon has launched a new product bundle offering everything needed to play Xbox for a month for under $70.

While it has been possible to play Xbox games via the cloud on PCs, mobile devices, and select smart TVs and VR headsets for some time, support for the feature was last week extended to some Amazon Fire TV Stick devices.

And as part of its Prime Day deals, Amazon is offering a Fire TV Stick 4K bundled with a white Xbox wireless controller and one month of Game Pass for $68.90.

It says these items would normally cost $109.99 purchased individually, and notes that the Game Pass code included in the deal is only valid for new members.

To stream Xbox games, players have to install and launch the Xbox app from their Fire TV device, sign in with a Microsoft account, sign up for Game Pass Ultimate if they haven’t already and connect a controller to play.

Supported Bluetooth-enabled wireless controllers also include the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and PlayStation’s DualSense and DualShock 4 pads.

Earlier today, Microsoft announced the next batch of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Magical Delicacy and Flock joined the service today. They’ll be followed by Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Dungeons of Hinterberg, and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess later this week.

It was claimed last week that Microsoft is planning to bring Modern Warfare 3 to Xbox Game Pass this month.

The claim was made shortly after the company raised Xbox Game Pass prices and announced plans to introduce a new Standard subscription tier that doesn’t include day one releases.