Microsoft will launch its own mobile game store in July, the company announced in the Bloomberg technology Summit Thursday.
Xbox President Sarah Bond shared that the company plans to bring its own portfolio, which includes titles like Candy Crush and Minecraft, to the mobile store at launch. Microsoft then plans to open the mobile store to other publishers.
“Let's start on the web,” Bond said. “And we're doing it because that really allows us to have an accessible experience on all devices, in all countries, no matter what, regardless of closed ecosystem store policies, and then we're going to expand from there.”
By launching the store on the web, instead of an app, Microsoft would present an alternative to Apple and Google, which charge a 30% fee on sales.
The official announcement comes as Microsoft has been talking about launching an Xbox mobile game store for quite some time now. Last December, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said the company was in talks with partners about launching an Xbox mobile store, noting it would come sooner rather than later.
Microsoft first hinted at a mobile device store back in 2022, when it announced a deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Microsoft had said in fillings that one of the main reasons it wanted to acquire Activision Blizzard was to help develop its presence in mobile gaming. In October 2022, Microsoft's CMA filings revealed that it planned to create a new “Xbox Mobile Platform” that includes mobile games from Activision and King.
While the EU Digital Marketing Act (DMA) forces Apple and Google to open their mobile app stores, Microsoft seeks to offer an alternative to the two in the United States and beyond the EU.
