Microsoft Working On Xbox Mobile Store To Compete Apple and Google Play Store

According to an insider report, Microsoft is developing an Xbox mobile store to compete against Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store. This is according to documents filed with the UK Competition and Markets Authority.

This is reported by The Verge. Microsoft sees a great opportunity to use Activision Blizzard games to build a store that could compete with the Google Play Store and Apple app store.

The British competition and market surveillance authority CMA is currently still investigating the $ 68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. In the filing, Microsoft claims, among other things, that the acquisition will help complete the planned Xbox mobile platform and break the app store monopoly.

In response to the CMA’s decision to reconsider the acquisition, Microsoft argued that players will be more likely to try the Xbox Mobile Store if they see that it includes well-known games – those from Activision Blizzard.

“Building on Activision Blizzard’s existing player communities, Xbox will seek to extend the Xbox Store to mobile devices and attract players to a new Xbox mobile platform,” the filings read, according to The Verge’s report. And further: “However, the consumer shift away from the Google Play Store and App Store on mobile devices will require a major shift in consumer behavior.”

Attractive Games

Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch are just a few of the big-draw games Activision Blizzard offers. This is ideal for bringing about the “change” that Microsoft is aiming for. Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga are among the company’s current biggest mobile hits.

Outside the UK, the European Commission has reportedly questioned competing game makers about the takeover and how it could give them an unfair advantage. So far, there have been completely different voices from Microsoft that have been spread. In August, Microsoft downplayed concerns about the acquisition, telling New Zealand regulators, for example, that Activision Blizzard does not make “must-have” games.

Now the argument seems to go in the other direction. Microsoft has not yet responded to a request for comment on the Xbox Mobile Store.