Xbox Mobile Gaming Store: What to Expect From Microsoft’s Rival to the App Store

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In 2022, following its groundbreaking purchase of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft signaled its intention to develop a cutting-edge digital marketplace for games.

A year after an interview, Microsoft’s Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, expressed their intention to make Xbox games available on various devices, including smartphones, wherever people choose to play.

For numerous individuals, these series of occurrences were significantly noteworthy. In a mobile game market where giants such as the Google Play Store and Apple App Store hold dominance, the emergence of another contender providing novel games and exclusive content would represent a substantial shift for the burgeoning mobile gaming sector.

Xbox’s Mobile Gaming Store‘s Launch Has Been Delayed

2024 saw Sarah Bond, the head of Xbox at Microsoft, announce that their mobile gaming marketplace would debut in July of that very year.

Sarah Bond, currently holding the position of President at Microsoft’s Xbox division, revealed during #BloombergTech that the tech giant plans to debut its proprietary mobile game store in July. This move aims to provide a viable competitor to the existing marketplaces operated by Apple and Google.

— Bloomberg Live (@BloombergLive) May 9, 2024

According to Bond, the store can now be accessed online, which means it’s open for use by gamers worldwide, regardless of the restrictions imposed by closed-platform app stores.

She also added that we plan to develop this model more extensively in the time ahead, but the specifics of how it will measure up as a formidable contender against other retailers are yet to be determined.

As a gamer, I’ve been eagerly waiting for the Xbox mobile store to launch, but it seems like we’re still in the starting blocks. It turns out that there’s been some disagreement between Microsoft and Apple over new policies that are causing problems for Microsoft. These policies limit how Microsoft can interact with users and increase costs more than before, which has created quite a stir. So, unfortunately, the store is stuck in a holding pattern for now.

What Will Xbox’s Mobile Gaming Store Bring to Mobile?

Xbox emphasizes its new mobile game store by highlighting its unique cross-device gaming feature, specifically tailored for mobile gamers. They see a gap in the existing app market regarding linking players with games they are genuinely interested in playing.

At the store’s debut, Microsoft’s exclusive collection of games, such as “Call of Duty: Mobile,” “Candy Crush,” and “Minecraft,” will be accessible.

Immediately following this, Microsoft intends to make this feature available to other collaborators as well; however, a specific timeline for its implementation has not been disclosed yet.

Xbox aspires to deliver an all-encompassing experience by ensuring it is seamless and consistent “across multiple devices.” This means that your collection, personal profile, and earned rewards can be accessed and enjoyed on any device you choose to use.

It’s exciting to hear about this new project from Xbox, but it’s important to acknowledge its ambitious nature. Currently, the Google Play Store and Apple App Store are dominantly preferred by mobile users. For Xbox’s mobile game store to thrive, they need to make significant efforts in making their store more appealing and convenient for players. They should consider offering attractive benefits that would motivate players to switch from their current platforms. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see how things unfold.

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2025-05-29 18:31