After taking on multiple businesses in the gaming sector, Phil Spencer plans on making Xbox shift toward the mobile industry next. According to a report from Bloomberg, Microsoft Corporation is currently in talks with partners to come up with a mobile app store that would compete against tech giants like Apple and Google’s storefronts.
During the recent CCXP convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the CEO of Xbox, Phil Spencer addressed this matter and quoted the following:
It’s an important part of our strategy and something we are actively working on today not only alone, but talking to other partners who’d also like to see more choices for how they can monetize on the phone.
With the rise in the mobile gaming market, this decision is right for them to make. However, it is highly unlikely that Apple or Alphabet (the parent company of Google) would make it easy for them to do the same. The standalone storefront wouldn’t be favored by either as it would hamper their app libraries.
In 2022, the mobile gaming sector has seen an overall loss in consumers by 5% and the same seems to be repeating this year. This is where Microsoft can come in with a proposal for improvement to benefit both parties.
Moreover, Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion also gave Xbox the upper hand. This acquisition gave the company control over top mobile games like Call of Duty Mobile, and Candy Crush. In fact, during the acquisition , the CEO stated that the deal was mandatory to boost the company’s footprint in the larger-scale mobile industry.
The plan for the new Xbox mobile store app had been in plan for a long time, however, it was delayed due to the merger deal with Activision. With that being a success, there’s a high likelihood that the plans for the mobile app will be put in motion faster than ever. As a matter of fact, during CCXP, Phil even hinted that we could see the app store as soon as next year.
The European Union’s Digital Act has a big hand to play as it has forced Apple against anti-consumer practices. There are many allegations that both Apple and Alphabet are unnecessarily restrictive and unfair towards third-party developers. This has gotten many creators to raise their voices against such strict policies. Here’s where Xbox can play its cards right to create a more welcoming platform for both creators and consumers on their app store.
Can Xbox improve the unfair restrictive store policies of Apple and Google in the mobile gaming market?
Back in 2021, Epic Games sued Apple for its highly restrictive storefront policies. Apple enforces a 30% cut on competing digital stores from sales on platforms like iPhone and iPad. This high percentage of fees ended up affecting Epic negatively and they took Apple to court. However, Epic Games lost the battle and Fortnite has since unplayable on mobile Apple devices since 2020.
Epic and Google found themselves in a similar predicament as Alphabet was not allowing third-party app stores. It was said that Epic even approached OEMs to allow Fortnite to be pre-installed, to which only OnePlus agreed. However, later on, that was dropped because Google refused to let it through.
Overall, both Google and Apple are closed-circuited when it comes to protecting their legacy in the mobile market. Phil Spencer wants to tackle this and find a sweet spot that could benefit all. He wishes to make Xbox relevant for decades and addressed the current situation in the mobile market by saying the following:
We’ve talked about choice, and today on your mobile phones, you don’t have choice
Only time can tell whether Microsoft will be able to capture the market against both Apple’s and Google’s wishes. Since Xbox has a huge reputation in the gaming industry, there are chances they can change the mobile market as well. Moreover, with the EU digital rights in effect, such changes have been evident in 2023.
