According to The Verge, Microsoft first announced a plan for an Xbox mobile game store in 2022, when the target was to go online in July 2024, and today the project ‘ s test website is offline, the last update being almost a year ago. There has been anecdotal information that the Xbox mobile end-end store is “dead-to-be”, although Microsoft has recently reiterated that the project is still under way. The new head of Microsoft Xbox, Asha Sharma, responded on platform X to rumors about the Xbox mobile store. She said, “Three weeks ago, we submitted a non-party opinion because the competition on the mobile side remains important and we believe that the future of the game should be more open. Although I am still studying, the Xbox mobile shop plan has not disappeared.”
Tim Sweeney, the boss of Epic, also quickly supported on X the idea of Xbox competing in the field of mobile shops, “Microsoft’s new game manager, Asha Sharma, indicated that Microsoft was still working to develop the Xbox Android application into a mature multi-platform game shop”.
He added, “This is good news, and the settlement agreement between Epic and Google ensured that the game could land on the Android platform worldwide. The settlement agreement created a registered shop scheme to enable reputable shops (including start-ups and small businesses) to install their applications globally (except in the United States) through a network. “The court’s injunction and the proposed amendment to the injunction ensure that these stores have access to the United States market through Google Play or the registered store plan. An open platform is a good thing, and in the area of consumer equipment with billions of users, Android is in the forefront again.” The former Xbox leader, Phil Spencer, said that Microsoft wanted to launch a “player first” app store in February 2024 and that he was discussing the idea with partners. However, there are several logistical obstacles that need to be overcome before that can be achieved.
In May 2024, the then Xbox Managing Director, Sarah Bond, announced that the Xbox mobile game store would be launched in July of the same year, but one month later, sources in the field of mobile game distribution revealed that the project was in fact still confidential and unlikely to be launched in July. One of the people close to Microsoft said, “There are no details at this time, and who knows what Microsoft is doing. Maybe they don’t know.” In August 2024, the Xbox app store was still silent. Since then, the project appears to have died in view of the upheavals within the Microsoft game sector that led to the departure of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond and the appointment of Asha Sharma as the new Xbox head.
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