In July 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission argued that Microsoft’s Game Pass restructuring illustrated the consumer harm it had warned could follow the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The agency pointed to higher prices and the removal of day-one first-party releases from a lower-priced console tier. That was an argument in the merger dispute—not a final finding that Microsoft broke antitrust law or that every subscriber was worse off.
The story was reported on July 19, 2024, so references to “upcoming” changes describe that historical announcement. The FTC’s public case page now lists the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard matter as closed, with a last update of May 22, 2025.
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What changed in Game Pass in 2024?
The July 2024 changes affected console, Ultimate and PC subscriptions differently. The prices below are historical figures reported at the time, not current prices.
| Plan or customer group | Earlier position | Change reported in July 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Game Pass for Console | $10.99 per month; included catalog access and day-one first-party releases. | Discontinued for new subscribers. |
| Existing Console subscribers | Could keep the older plan under grandfathering terms. | Reportedly retained the full catalog and day-one releases, including access to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Individual eligibility terms could vary. |
| Xbox Game Pass Standard | This tier was not part of the previous structure. | Introduced at $14.99 per month, with catalog access but no day-one first-party releases. The report said some first-party titles might take up to 12 months or more to appear; timing varied by title and was not a guarantee. |
| Xbox Game Pass Ultimate | Higher-priced tier with day-one releases. | Price increased; day-one access remained. The cited report did not establish the new price. |
| PC Game Pass | $9.99 per month. | Increase to $11.99 per month was scheduled for September 2024. |
These historical details and prices were reported by Thurrott on July 19, 2024. They should not be read as August 2026 pricing or as a statement of the service’s current tiers.
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Was Standard simply a 36% price increase?
Compared with the cited $10.99 Console price, Standard’s $14.99 monthly price was about 36.4% higher. But that comparison is incomplete: Standard was a different product, excluded day-one first-party releases, and was available to new subscribers while existing Console subscribers were reportedly allowed to keep the older plan. The change mattered most to a new customer who wanted day-one access and therefore had to consider the more expensive Ultimate tier.
Why did the FTC call the changes consumer harm?
The FTC’s concern was the combination of increased prices and reduced value for some subscribers. In the agency’s view, replacing the old Console tier with a higher-priced Standard tier that lacked day-one releases could make customers pay more—or move to a costlier tier—to retain a prominent benefit. The agency characterized this as “product degradation”: a service can still contain many games while becoming less valuable to customers who lose a feature they particularly want.
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The broader theory was that ownership of valuable game content could give Microsoft more ability and incentive to raise prices, restrict access, or worsen terms for competing services. In its administrative complaint, the FTC identified concerns involving high-performance consoles, multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming. Its December 8, 2022 announcement described possible ways Microsoft could manipulate prices, access timing, game quality or availability on rival platforms.
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The FTC linked the 2024 changes to the post-merger theory; the changes alone do not establish that the acquisition caused them. Some Game Pass price increases had occurred before the Activision transaction was completed, according to the contemporaneous report. Nor does the FTC’s argument mean that every subscriber paid more: the effect depended on a customer’s tier, grandfathered status and interest in day-one releases.
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- SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: From fast-paced action and adventure to timeless classics, family-friendly games, innovative indie titles, brain-teasing puzzles, immersive roleplaying adventures, and intense shooters. Dive into a world where every gamer can find their next favorite game.
- NEW GAMES ON DAY ONE: Enjoy incredible new games on day one from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, Activision Blizzard, and more. Play The Outer Worlds 2, NINJA GAIDEN 4, and High on Life 2 as soon as they are released.
- ONLINE CONSOLE MULTIPLAYER: Tap into the heart of the Xbox community and join millions of players ready to play together. Online console multiplayer is included with Game Pass Ultimate.
- EA PLAY MEMBERSHIP INCLUDED: Jump into Battlefield, STAR WARS, and other great game franchises with EA Play. Included at no extra cost, members get access to a collection of EA’s best-loved games, in-game rewards, and trials of select new games.
Why Call of Duty was central to the debate
Microsoft had presented the addition of Activision content to Game Pass, including day-one availability of Call of Duty on Game Pass, as a consumer benefit. That made the distinction between tiers especially relevant when Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was due later in 2024: day-one availability was associated with particular tiers, not a promise that every Game Pass subscriber would receive every future Activision title on release day.
For a player primarily interested in a new Call of Duty release, the practical question was not just whether the game would enter Game Pass, but which tier included it at launch. Game Pass access is subscription access, not permanent ownership: continued play generally depends on an active subscription and the title remaining available in the service.
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What Microsoft and Activision argued
Microsoft and Activision disputed the FTC’s theory that the transaction would harm competition or consumers. In its answer to the FTC complaint, Activision argued that the deal would produce consumer benefits, that competition and entry by rivals would remain sufficient, and that the FTC’s predicted harms were speculative. It also pointed to Microsoft’s contractual commitments concerning Call of Duty.
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- PLAY ACROSS YOUR FAVORITE DEVICES — Enjoy included games across supported XBOX consoles, PC, and other compatible devices for more ways to play wherever you are.
- PLAY TOGETHER ONLINE — Connect with friends and communities with online console multiplayer included with XBOX Game Pass Essential.
- STREAM WITH XBOX CLOUD GAMING — Enjoy up to 5 hours of cloud playtime per month and stream supported games to compatible devices with XBOX Cloud Gaming.
- EARN REWARDS WHILE YOU PLAY — Earn Rewards points by playing games, completing eligible activities, and shopping in the Store with your XBOX Game Pass membership.
Who was most affected by the historical tier split?
Existing Console subscribers
Existing subscribers were reportedly able to retain the older Console plan and its day-one benefit. Grandfathering was an important exception, but it did not necessarily guarantee that the plan would remain available after cancellation, a payment failure or other account changes; subscribers needed to check the applicable account terms.
New console subscribers
Standard offered a lower-cost entry point than Ultimate and catalog access without day-one first-party releases. A new subscriber who wanted those releases had to weigh Ultimate’s higher price against the value of getting new games at launch.
Catalog-focused players
Standard could suit someone who mainly sampled games already in the catalog and did not mind waiting for some new first-party titles. Its value depended on how much of the catalog the subscriber actually played and whether waiting was acceptable.
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PC players
PC Game Pass was a separate subscription consideration. The reported $9.99-to-$11.99 increase was scheduled for September 2024 and should not be conflated with the console tier changes.
What happened to the FTC matter?
The FTC’s public Microsoft/Activision Blizzard case page lists the administrative matter as closed and shows May 22, 2025 as its last-update date. That current status is important context for a report originally published in 2024: the FTC’s criticism of Game Pass was part of its advocacy in the merger dispute, not a final adjudication that the subscription changes were illegal.
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