Microsoft has finally set a date for the long-anticipated launch of its Xbox mobile gaming store: July. Xbox president Sarah Bond announced during the Bloomberg Technology Summit.
The upcoming Xbox mobile store will initially focus on Microsoft’s first-party portfolio, featuring popular titles like Candy Crush and Minecraft, reports Bloomberg.
Bond emphasised that the store’s initial rollout will be on the web, allowing for all-device and all-region access, irrespective of the restrictions imposed by closed ecosystems stores.
“We’re going to start on the web, and we’re doing that because that allows us to have it be an experience accessible across all devices, all countries, no matter what and independent of the policies of closed ecosystem stores,” said Bond.
While games will undoubtedly be a significant aspect of the store, Microsoft intends to offer more than just a gaming experience. Bond highlighted the vision of a unified gaming platform that transcends devices, ensuring that users’ identities, libraries, and rewards are portable across different ecosystems.
Microsoft’s development of this web-only mobile store is a strategic move designed to offer an alternative to existing mobile game platforms controlled by tech giants like Apple and Google. Bond hinted at the potential expansion of the store beyond the web interface, suggesting that Microsoft may eventually challenge the dominance of Google and Apple’s mobile app stores.
This initiative by Microsoft follows previous hints about a ‘next-generation store’ dating back to early 2022, shortly after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard.
Last year, Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spenser expressed the company’s ambition to provide Xbox content seamlessly across all screens, including mobile devices, anticipating a future where these platforms are more open and accessible.
As of now, the company has not disclosed any more details as to how the store will be operationalised or what will be the fee charged by Microsoft to host games. We will have to wait till July to find out the full details.
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