It’s official: Xbox is about to launch its smartphone games store. In addition to consoles and PC, Microsoft is now preparing to invade the mobile market.
After several years of talk, Microsoft is finally bringing its Xbox mobile games store project to fruition. The president of the gaming branch, Sarah Bond, announced a launch next summer during the Bloomberg Technology Summit. The objective? Offer a platform bringing together Microsoft’s first-party mobile games, while at the same time bypassing the strict restrictions of the App Store.
Microsoft formalizes the launch of its Xbox store on mobile
Initially, the Xbox store will focus on mobile games developed by Microsoft’s in-house studios, starting with Call of Duty: Mobile or Candy Crush Saga. “ We’ll start by bringing our own first-party wallet to the Xbox mobile store », Explains Sarah Bond during the Bloomberg Technology Summit, before continuing by affirming that “vou will find games like Candy Crush and Minecraft “.
Still according to Bond’s statements, this strategic choice will be based first of all on a Web launch. “ This allows us to offer an accessible experience on all devices and in all countries, regardless of restrictive policies of closed ecosystems “, she specifies.
Remember, last January, the president of Xbox had precisely expressed her dissatisfaction with Apple’s new policy concerning the App Store, railing against the fee imposed by Apple: 50 euro cents per installation after one million downloads for applications installed from third-party stores.
However, since the entry into force of the DMA on March 6, Apple has somewhat modified the rules of its App Store on the European continent. Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to all developers.
A future competitor to the App Store and the Google Play Store?
Beyond the simple sale of games, the Xbox store aims to integrate other key elements of the Xbox experience. Sarah Bond points out the current absence of a platform and a games store “ truly cross-device where your profile, library, identity and rewards follow you, without being locked into a single ecosystem “. This is presumably what Microsoft is trying to build with its Xbox mobile store.
In any case, the challenge remains for this web store model, the launch of which will take place next July. The way in which Microsoft will position its offering against mobile games already present on competing stores is not yet entirely clear. Sarah Bond, however, evokes a “ extension » beyond the web according to The Vergesuggesting the upcoming launch of a real competitor to the Google and Apple mobile application stores.
See the offer
9.5
- Catalogs provided in various sets
- Xbox Game Studios titles playable day one!
- Game-changing cloud gaming
Installed in the homes of millions of gamers for several years, Xbox Game Pass has become an essential figure in video games. The diversity of its catalog, its always practical applications and the ideally integrated cloud gaming confirm this feeling. A service that is difficult to match and almost impossible to upgrade.
Installed in the homes of millions of gamers for several years, Xbox Game Pass has become an essential figure in video games. The diversity of its catalog, its always practical applications and the ideally integrated cloud gaming confirm this feeling. A service that is difficult to match and almost impossible to upgrade.
Source : The Verge
2