Dual-track battle pass QA before UA creative ships
Operator checklist: verify free versus premium pass rewards match what ads claim before creative ships, using the FTC Cognosphere press record as the deceptive-claim bar.
UA creative that shows premium battle-pass rewards to free players creates support load and chargeback risk when the free track does not grant those rewards. This checklist is an operator QA gate before creative ships. It is not a legal opinion.
Primary bar this checklist uses
On 17 January 2025 the FTC announced a DOJ complaint (on FTC referral) against Cognosphere / HoYoverse alleging deception about loot-box odds and real-money costs, and alleging that Event Banners and influencer campaigns overstated the odds of obtaining promoted five-star prizes. The proposed order summarised in that release would prohibit misrepresenting loot-box odds, prices and features and would require disclosure of odds and multi-tier virtual-currency exchange rates. That is a US consumer-protection record about misleading prize and cost claims — not a battle-pass statute — but it is the primary bar used here for “does the ad claim match what free and premium tracks actually grant?”
Dual-track QA before creative ships
| Check | Pass condition | Fail action |
|---|---|---|
| Free-track inventory | Every reward shown in the ad appears on the **free** track for the advertised season, or the ad labels it **premium / paid track** | Rewrite or kill cut |
| Premium-track inventory | Premium-only rewards are never shown without a paid-track label | Rewrite |
| Season / end date | Ad states season id or end date when rewards are time-bound | Add dated expiry or kill |
| Soft goods | Soft-currency amounts in the ad match live FTUE grants for free players | Align economy or creative |
| Chargeback / support | Support macros ready for “ad showed X / free track lacks X” | Block ship until macros exist |
| Store listing parity | Evergreen store copy does not contradict the seasonal claim | Align ASO or creative |
Facts versus limits
| Field | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Document | FTC press release, 17 January 2025 |
| Jurisdiction of that record | United States (FTC / DOJ complaint) |
| Applies directly to battle passes? | Not stated — used here as a deceptive-claim QA bar |
| Observed live ads here | None |
| UA implication | Do not ship dual-track pass creatives until free/premium reward matrices are signed off against the cut |
