Xbox head Phil Spencer has reaffirmed that Microsoft will be opening an Xbox mobile app store by next year, just in time for the EU’s Digital Markets Act in March 2024. The act will require Apple and Google to allow third-party app storefronts on mobile platforms, making way for an Xbox storefront on mobile.
“We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,” Spencer explained in an interview with 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.
“The Digital Markets Act that’s coming, those are the kinds of things that we are planning for. I think it’s a huge opportunity.”
Microsoft had previously presented documents to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority last year that clarified its intentions to create the Xbox mobile store app.
Microsoft has also been signing deals with other companies like Nintendo and for cloud gaming services like GeForce Now and Ubitus. It seems like Microsoft is hoping that by providing Activision Blizzard content to as many platforms as possible, that it will help ease fears regarding anti-competition regulations.
The current Activision Blizzard deal with Microsoft has been held up by anti-trust regulators in Europe and the United States out of fears that by owning Call of Duty, Microsoft would gain an unfair advantage. However, Microsoft has reiterated that it will not be keeping Sony away from Call of Duty and has signed deals with other companies and providers guaranteeing Call of Duty.
Activision Blizzard also has many mobile games in its IPs, including Candy Crush Saga and Diablo Immortal.
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