As part of the investigation surrounding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft revealed it was planning an Xbox mobile store to rival Google Play and the App Store. According to a recent interview, this new store might arrive sooner than we thought.
The success of this Xbox app store will revolve around numerous factors. The first of these is Activision Blizzard’s popular mobile games, which Microsoft hopes to leverage to drum up interest in its app store. For example, Call of Duty: Mobile currently boasts over 190 million downloads, which, alongside the upcomingCall of Duty: Warzone Mobile, could be made exclusive to Microsoft’s app store.
However, Microsoft is still waiting on regulatory approval for their proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In an interview withFinancial Times, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer revealed that if this deal is approved, the app store could arrive as soon as next year (viaThe Verge), assuming regulators can create an environment where alternative app stores can thrive.
TheEU’s Digital Markets Act, designed to encourage competition in the consumer technology sector, is the second part of Microsoft’s plan. While alternative app stores can exist on Android devices, Google Play’s dominance makes them little more than a novelty. Apple does not allow the installation of other app stores on iOS devices at all. Microsoft is therefore hoping that regulators will force Apple and Google to create an environment where other app stores can compete. The act comes into effect on June 20, 2025, and corporations identified as being in violation will have until July 12, 2025, to comply with the legislation.
This upcoming app store is only part of Microsoft’s attempts to break into mobile gaming. Numerous partnerships have seen Game Pass become an integral part of recent handheld gaming deviceslike the Razer Edge, and most Android phones and tablets can play Xbox games through the cloud.
However, the future is still murky for Microsoft’s success in the mobile gaming world. Even if the acquisition is approved, recent comments by Microsoft stated it wasplanning on phasing out Call of Duty: Mobilein favor of Call of Duty: Warzone, but contradictory comments from Activision Blizzard indicate that support will continue for a long time. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome, but it could mark a significant change in the mobile gaming market if Microsoft manages to release its own app store.
