The winds of change are beginning to blow more and more. There is only one year left until the European Union’s Digital Markets Act comes into force, which will force Apple to allow the existence of alternative application stores in addition to the App Store.
At Microsoft, they know that a year passes very quickly and they have already set to work. So much so that the head of division video game of Microsoft Phil Spencer has previously stated in the Financial Times that the company will want open an xbox game store on ios.
App Store competition may start with games
Microsoft’s intention is clear: that users can play Xbox games from any screen. Mobile, tablet, whatever. This can already be done (in testing) from the browser and via Xbox Cloud Gaming added to Game Pass, but The ideal is to have a native store from where you can offer a better experience. In the words of Spencer:
We want to be able to deliver content from Xbox and our partners to any screen you want to play on. We can’t do that on mobile today, but now we want to look to a future world where we believe these devices will be open.
Apple may like it more or less, but the reality is that there are already rumors of an iOS 17 ready to support alternative app stores. The law will be what it will be and in Cupertino they will have no choice but to comply.
An Xbox service game store will be a very serious competitor to Apple Arcade, the Cupertino company’s game subscription service. At the same time, this competition would force other companies to move, with us, users are the main beneficiaries.
There can be a debate about security in the context of App Store exclusivity, but at the same time it can lead to a very interesting situation. After Microsoft, there will be little brake for other stores like Epic Games Store to make similar moves.
Imagen | Turag Photography
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