Microsoft is preparing to launch an Xbox store on iOS and Android next year, according to Phil Spencer. The head of the company’s gaming division shared the timeline in a interview published Monday, noting that the plan depends on regulators approving Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard.
“We want to be able to deliver Xbox and content from both ourselves and our third-party partners on any screen that someone wants to play on,” Spencer told the outlet. “Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices, but we want to build a world that we believe will go wherever those devices open up.”
Microsoft first revealed that it was working on an Xbox store for mobile devices at the company filed with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year. At the time, the tech giant didn’t provide a timeline for the plan, noting that only its proposed merger with Activision Blizzard would play a pivotal role. Spencer was more direct on Monday. “The Digital Markets Law that is coming, that is the type of thing that we are planning,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity.”
Under the (DMA), the main platforms that the European Union designates as “gatekeepers” will have to open their devices to the app stores of the competition. Last fall, a saying Apple was already at work preparing to bring iOS into compliance with the legislation before the March 2024 deadline. The EU will allow companies it labels as gatekeepers to appeal the designation, an exception that could delay enforcement of the law. Plus, with the challenges of and, there’s no guarantee Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will close before the new rules apply to Apple and Google, a fact Spencer seemed to acknowledge when he was interviewed by the financial times. However, he said it would be “quite trivial” for Microsoft to adapt its existing Xbox and Game Pass apps to sell games and subscriptions via mobile devices.
