Microsoft has now finally set a date for the store for smartphone platforms that was announced some time ago. This should launch in a few weeks, but not yet in the form of a native app for Android and iOS.
The announcement of the store generated some attention primarily because it occurred almost parallel to the opening of Apple’s iOS platform to third-party stores. It was already clear back then that Microsoft would not provide a general download platform for various applications, but would instead concentrate on games for mobile systems.
Sarah Bond, head of the Xbox division at Microsoft, explained at the Bloomberg Technology Summit that the new store should launch in July. However, she also admitted that Microsoft will not yet provide a native store in the form of an app for Android or even iOS.
Instead, the new platform will initially only be launched as a web offer. Bond reasoned that this allows you to reach a larger audience and more devices. However, this doesn’t really make sense, because in the long run it will probably be more difficult to lure users to a website again and again than to get them to install an app once. Microsoft probably wants to test whether it’s worth it before investing resources in developing a native store.
In the new offering, Microsoft will initially only offer games that are developed within its own group. This includes games like King’s popular Candy Crush titles, which Microsoft acquired with its purchase of Activision Blizzard last October. Games like Minecraft and Call of Duty Mobile would probably also be included.
Bond explained that there are also plans to market third-party games through the platform in the future. However, details are still being worked out, so nothing more concrete can be said yet.
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