Xbox boss Phil Spencer has announced that Microsoft is talking to “partners” about opening a new mobile gaming store to rival those of Apple and Google.
Speaking during a Sao Paulo comics convention (thanks, Bloomberg), Spencer said mobile is an “important part of [Xbox’s] strategy” and that Microsoft is “actively working on” talking to partners about a new mobile store.
While Spencer hasn’t given a date for when we can expect this store to launch, he says he “[doesn’t] think this is multiple years away” and that the launch of said store will be “sooner than that”.
Over the past few years, conversation around what many would see as Google and Apple’s monopoly over mobile gaming has been constant and fierce.
A great deal of that conversation has revolved around popular battle royale title Fortnite, which found itself at the center of a row with both Google and Apple after attempting to implement a direct payment system for Fortnite on mobile.
Amid that dispute, Fortnite became available via Xbox Cloud Gaming last year, technically making it playable for free on mobile devices once again.
Spencer’s comments come during a time when Xbox is seemingly looking to expand its business significantly beyond classic console and PC gaming.
Earlier this week, Xbox’s CFO Tim Stuart spoke about Xbox’s attitude towards AI at a conference, proselytizing about having “never been more excited about a technology shift in the gaming landscape”.
News that Xbox and Microsoft are exploring a new mobile store also comes not long after the confirmation of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard purchase, which Spencer has promised will not negatively impact “what has made Blizzard unique”.
We’ll have to wait and see what Microsoft and Xbox have planned for their potential new mobile gaming store. In the meantime, however, the Google Play Store and Apple App Store remain the dominant forces in mobile gaming distribution.
