Xbox is on the verge of realizing one of its greatest ambitions. The studio/publisher/manufacturer already has enormous influence on 2 of the 3 video game sectors: consoles and PCs (thanks to Windows which also belongs to Microsoft). All that remains is the mobile territory (smartphones, tablets) to conquer. This victory is about to arrive as Microsoft gives the release date of its store on iOS and Android.
It was during the Bloomberg Technology Summit that Sarah Bond, the president of Xbox, detailed the company’s intentions. She states that a mobile awning is being prepared and will be available for use from the month of July 2024. Then she continues:
“We’re going to start by bringing our own portfolio of games to (the Xbox mobile store), so you’ll see games like Candy Crush or Minecraft show up in that experience. We’re going to start with the web, and we’re doing it because it really allows us to have an accessible experience on all devices, in all countries, no matter what and regardless of the policies of closed ecosystem stores.”
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Sarah Bond, @Microsoft’s Xbox president, announced at #BloombergTech that the company will launch its own mobile game store in July, creating an alternative to Apple and Google’s app stores pic.twitter.com/hj6eLtsGfl
— Bloomberg Live (@BloombergLive) May 9, 2024
As she explains, the store will initially include all first-party games from Xbox Game Studios. With the recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, we should find absolute hits such as Call of Duty Mobile, Warzone Mobile, Warcraft Rumblebut also all King titles like Candy Crush Saga. The firm is not going to be content with its own games, and will focus in the future on franchises from partner studios that are already found in Game Pass or on Xbox exclusively.
Sarah Bond explains that Microsoft wants to build an environment that “truly extends across all devices – your identity, your library, your identity, your rewards travel with you, instead of being locked into a single ecosystem.”
An era ripe for change
Players are aware that it is the DMA which allows so much freedom today in terms of competition on mobile platforms. This is a European law, which therefore does not concern the firm’s main markets, namely Asia and the United States. Despite everything, this does not seem to disturb Microsoft, whose plans are international. Perhaps its actions will force these nations to adopt the changes necessary for better competition and greater openness of ecosystems for the benefit of users.
With the possibility of bringing its games store to smartphones, Xbox ensures a more secure investment in mobile games. This could therefore encourage the creation of new projects. During the trial of its lawsuit against Apple, Epic Games was supported by Xbox which wanted to be able to monetize its cloud gaming services but also Game Pass. We therefore imagine that these will be steps to take in the coming months.
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