Microsoft is already working hard to prepare for a world where Apple is forced to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone. In an interview with the Financial Times, Microsoft head of games Phil Spencer said the company wants to be “able to deliver the Xbox experience and content from our own and third-party partners to any screen. that someone wants to play”. .
Specifically, Spencer is referring to what we’ve already mentioned that could force Apple to open up its ecosystem to third-party stores, the Digital Markets Actnew legislation that will come into force in the European Union in 2024. As I said, the DMA will ask Apple to relax its control over the iPhone/iPad and allow for the first time third-party alternatives to the App Store. Phil Spencer referred to it in the interview as follows.
The Digital Markets Act that is about to come into force is the type of thing that we are planning. I think it’s a great opportunity.
Although Microsoft wants to offer its Xbox ecosystem on any platform, Spencer acknowledged that currently this is not possible on mobile devices. “Today we can’t do that on mobile, but we want to build a world that we believe will come where those devices open up,” he said. According to Spencer, smartphones are “the biggest platform people play games on” today. He added that it would be “pretty trivial” for Microsoft “to adapt its Xbox and Game Pass apps to sell games and subscriptions on mobile devices.”
All this, however, dependent on Microsoft agreeing to acquire Activision Blizzard receive regulatory approval. Spencer admitted to the Financial Times that Microsoft’s “current lack of mobile games” represents an “obvious hole in our capabilities”. This deal, however, is facing its own regulatory scrutiny. With the deal with Activision Blizzard, however, Microsoft will add hit games like Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and Candy Crush Saga to its arsenal
Microsoft and Apple have been arguing for years over App Store rules, which prohibit Microsoft from offering a specific cloud gaming app for the iPhone. Apple policy requires each game to be listed separately on the App Store. In its place, Microsoft offers its Xbox Cloud Gaming service as a web app for iPhone and iPad users.