Microsoft is creating a dedicated mobile gaming platform, which could bring big-name games to an exclusive smartphone store and rival the App Store and Google Play on the gaming front.
As reported by The Border (opens in a new tab), Microsoft was recently asked to outline their intentions to acquire Activision Blizzard to the UK Competition and Marketing Authority (CMA). In response, Microsoft (opens in a new tab) not only explained its “commitment to a future for games that expands beyond consoles,” but also its ambitions to create an Xbox mobile platform.
Microsoft said this would allow it to create “a next-generation game store that operates on a wide range of devices, including mobile devices as a result of adding Activision Blizzard content.” try to scale the Xbox Store on mobile devices, attracting players to a new Xbox mobile platform ”.
As Microsoft mentioned, to rival Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, both of which are pretty much gaming platforms in their own right, it would have to attract and host big-name games. This is where the acquisition of Activision Blizzard could come into play.
Candy Crush and Call of Duty could lead the Xbox Mobile platform
(Image credit: Lukmanazis | Shutterstock)
Two of the most popular mobile game franchises in the world Candy Crush and Call of Duty: Mobile are owned by Activision Blizzard. By purchasing Activision Blizzard, Microsoft was not only able to access these mobile games, but also potentially exclude them from the App Store and Play Store, thus attracting people to the Xbox mobile platform.
“The transaction gives Microsoft a significant presence in mobile games. King division’s mobile gaming revenue and titles such as Call of Duty: Mobile, as well as ancillary revenue, accounted for more than half of Activision Blizzard’s revenue in the first half of 2022, ″ Microsoft said in CMA’s response.
So what does this mean for you? Well, so far these plans appear to be in the early stages. But it could mean, and we’re speculating here, that accessing some of the most popular mobile games in the future will require using a dedicated Xbox store on smartphones and tablets. He might also see some Xbox games, probably ones that don’t require a lot of graphics power, brought to smartphones and accessible through this Xbox store. For example, we might see Gears Tactics, Halo Wars, or similar from the original Fable carried over to mobile games.
There are obstacles to this ambition, in particular Apple does not allow third-party app stores on iOS. So Microsoft may find it a challenge to bring the Xbox Mobile platform to the iPhone.
But one advantage could be how Microsoft could more easily bring Fortnite back to Android and possibly iOS if Apple, Microsoft and Epic can reach an agreement. This could happen after Epic Games took Apple to court and Microsoft launched its support behind Epic, ending with Fortnite on Xbox Game Pass and allowing access via Xbox Cloud Gaming. So, with such previous collaborations, we might see Fortnite then being offered as a direct download via the Xbox mobile platform.
Regardless of whether Microsoft’s mobile gaming ambitions are realized, the Redmond-based company is still dedicated to gaming on the go and handheld, as seen by the relatively quick Xbox Game Pass support on the Steam Deck.
