Microsoft is set to launch its app store for mobile games in the coming year. The tech company is now planning an app store for Candy Crush and Call of Duty in a bid to rival Google and Apple’s mobile software stores.
Microsoft Is Set To Launch Its App Store for Mobile Games in the Coming Year
Microsoft is at the moment planning to launch its very own app store for mobile games as a third-party rival to Apple and Google’s phone software platforms. The reported plan could happen as soon as next year, so long as the $68.7 billion acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is approved.
Apple and Google to Open Their App Stores By March 2024 to Third-Party Apps Stores
Both Apple and Google will be mandated to open up their iOS and Android platforms to third-party app stores by March 2024, when the European Union’s Digital Markets Act comes into full effect. That is conceivably when Microsoft will be able to launch its very own mobile app store, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer revealed to Financial Times in an interview.
Microsoft’s Reaction to the Development
“We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,” Spencer stated to Financial Times. “Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up.”
Plans for a Microsoft App Store Are Linked To the Acquisition of Games Publisher Activision Blizzard
But the reported plans for a Microsoft app store are linked to the acquisition of games publisher Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, which regulators in the US and Europe have worried would result in less competition among big gaming firms and then lead gamers to get shut out of games. Recent opposition has focused on whether the popular Call of Duty franchise would only come out on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles and PC, although Microsoft has assured that it will be coming out on other gaming platforms for many years to come.
Spencer Thinks the Acquisition Will Bring About Increased Competition in the Mobile Software Space
Spencer however defended the acquisition, stating that the merger would lead to increased competition in the mobile software space, which is something that is virtually nonexistent with Apple and Google’s hold on their platforms, as it’s very difficult to download software outside of their App Store and Google Play Store, respectively.
Tech Company, Microsoft, wants a place for users and gamers alike to download its roster of games, which would include popular mobile titles such as Call of Duty Mobile, Candy Crush and Diablo Immortal should the acquisition in question be approved.
Evidence of an Xbox Mobile Store Appeared Back In October
The evidence of an Xbox mobile store appeared back in October as Microsoft filed documents with the competition and Markets Authority of the UK, which is the country’s regulator looking into the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
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