Microsoft is reported to be working on an Xbox gaming store for mobile devices. This comes after Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. However, the acquisition is yet to take place. The details have been unveiled in filings with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Redmond’s tech giant claims that behind its acquisition, the big reason is to help build out a mobile gaming presence. Microsoft claims to be creating an Xbox mobile gaming store.
“Shifting consumers away from the Google Play Store and App Store on mobile devices will,
however, require a major shift in consumer behaviour,” Microsoft is quoted as saying in the filing (via The Verge), adding that “by offering well-known and popular content, gamers will be more inclined to try something new.”
Microsoft might use the enormously successful mobile games Candy Crush Saga and Call of Duty: Mobile, which are produced by Activision and King, respectively, to help develop a gaming shop that can compete with Google Play and the App Store. Given Apple’s restrictions on third-party app stores on iOS, it is impossible to see Microsoft ever challenging Apple on iPhones. However, Microsoft is unlikely to mark this as an ‘excuse’ and quit working.
Mobile gaming has become immensely popular in a short span of time, probably after entry of some first shooter games into the market. And if Microsoft extends its support with an Xbox gaming store, it’s safe to assume the industry will get a push.
