Microsoft is preparing to launch its new Xbox mobile gaming store as early as 2024.
The Xbox Store would operate on mobile and other devices, directly competing with Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store.
- Microsoft
is seeking to capitalize on the EU's Digital Markets Act, which will
require Apple and Google to open up their ecosystems, allowing other
companies to launch alternative app stores on Apple and Android devices.
- Microsoft
gaming chief Phil Spencer called the law a "huge opportunity," adding
that the company wants to build toward "a world that we think will be
coming where those devices are opened up."
- In addition to the
Digital Markets Act, an Xbox mobile games store would also depend on the
approval of Microsoft's purchase of of video game maker Activision
Blizzard, which would give it a larger portfolio of mobile games
including "Call of Duty: Mobile."
- While Xbox offers a cloud-based gaming service for iPhones, the games aren't playable via the App Store.
- Meanwhile, Apple is planning to allow alternative app stores on iOS in Europe to comply with new EU rules.
- The
Digital Markets Act — which requires all "digital gatekeepers" to open
up their platforms to outside companies and developers — takes effect
across the EU in 2023, though companies will have until 2024 to comply.
- Apple, however, could start allowing alternative app stores via an iOS 17 update in Europe in late 2023.
