It should actually become possible to buy and play Xbox games via the Xbox app on Android this month. But now there is a tussle between Google and Microsoft.
It was a groundbreaking ruling when Google was ordered in October to open its Android marketplace to other competitors and thus allow them to sell their titles directly through their own apps. This arose from a lawsuit by Epic Games, who wanted to bring their Epic Games Store to iOS and Android, especially for Fortnite.
On the occasion of this ruling, Microsoft also planned that players should be able to buy and play games via the Xbox app on Android from November. Stupid, because nothing is coming of it at the moment and, at least according to Sarah Bond from Microsoft, that's because of Google.
Bond says Xbox won't be able to add the promised features until the preliminary injunction Google sought is lifted – essentially a stay of judgment to allow time to appeal a ruling that Google says “impedes the ability of “Google Play's ability to provide a safe and trustworthy user experience is at risk.”
Bond said: “Due to a recent temporary stay of judgment granted by the courts, we are currently unable to roll out these features as planned. Our team has already developed the functionality and is ready to go live as soon as the court makes a final decision “We look forward to introducing it and offering players more choice and flexibility.”
But Google seems to have a different opinion. “Microsoft has always offered its Android users the ability to play and purchase Xbox games directly from their app – they simply chose not to,” Google spokesman Dan Jackson claimed in a statement. “The court's order and the haste with which it is implemented threatens Google Play's ability to provide a secure experience. Microsoft, like Epic, is ignoring these very real security concerns. We remain focused on building an ecosystem support that works for everyone, not just two of the biggest gaming companies.”
A statement that in turn completely infuriates Tim Sweeney from Epic Games: “Google's statement is misleading. Shame on them. They know full well that the 30 percent share they are demanding is far above the entire profit from streaming Gaming lies. They know this because they themselves poured hundreds of millions of dollars into building the failed Stadia gaming business.”
So it definitely looks like Google wants to play for time. The next few days will show what will happen. This certainly doesn't make Google any more popular.
In Xbox Game Pass Ultimate you can now also stream selected purchased games via Xbox Cloud Gaming.
