Microsoft announced this week that they are planning to launch their own mobile game app store to compete with Apple and Google.
The store will be browser-based and initially focus on Microsoft’s own games. There will be discounts and promotions on in-game items for popular titles like Candy Crush Saga. In the future, the tech giant will open storefronts to other publishers.
Xbox President Sarah Bond announces the store Bloomberg’s Technology Summit On Thursday, May 9. He said the purpose of creating a browser-based store rather than an app was to ensure it would be accessible “on all devices, in all countries, no matter what, independent of the policies of closed ecosystem stores.”
“We want to make sure that we start and scale with our IP first. This helps us ensure that the experience we bring to partners is truly based on all the quality and experience we have as a team.
Bond continued, saying there was a clear opportunity for Microsoft to compete based on a store that “really goes across all devices — where who you are, your library, your identity, your rewards travel with you.” versus staying locked into a single ecosystem.”
Microsoft’s gaming division, which has seen some tough times recentlyStill, it has a solid portfolio of games, including its most popular game of all time, Minecraft. The blocky sandbox title already has a mobile version, and Bond said it could be an early addition to the planned storefront.
Competition in the mobile apps market
It was determined at the end of last year Google had an unfair and illegal monopoly In Android apps. In its statement about the win, Epic Games said, “During the trial we saw evidence that Google was suppressing alternative app stores by paying developers to abandon their own store efforts and direct distribution plans and offering excessive Was willing to pay billions of dollars.” Lucrative agreements with device manufacturers in exchange for excluding competing app stores.
“These deals were meant to cement Google’s dominance as the only app store in town – and it worked. More than 95% of apps are distributed through the Play Store on Android. Epic also mentioned Apple’s “stranglehold” on app distribution on Apple devices.
Their three-year legal battle seems to have paved the way for other competitors to move into the mobile apps and games arena, and Microsoft is never known to turn its nose up when it gets an opportunity. It remains to be seen whether Google and Apple will reduce or eliminate the hefty fees charged on App Store purchases (currently 30% of sales) in light of the increased competition brought by the impending Microsoft App Store.
Featured Image Credit: Generated with Ideogram
microsoft-readies-launch-of-its-own-mobile-app-store
