Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Microsoft has announced plans to launch a mobile games store in July.
- This will be a web-based store that will initially launch with Microsoft's own games.
Microsoft has long expressed its intention to build a mobile app store as an alternative to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It turns out we don't have to wait too long before this store launches.
Xbox president Sarah Bond confirmed this during the Bloomberg Technology Summit that Microsoft would launch a mobile game store in July. The store would launch with Microsoft's own games before later being opened up to other publishers. Microsoft also offers discounted in-game items for titles like Candy Crush.
Bond added that this would be a web-based store rather than an actual app, making it “accessible on all devices, in all countries, no matter what, regardless of closed ecosystem store policies.”
In addition to Candy Crush, the Xbox president said Minecraft could be another title coming to the online store early.
It's unclear whether Microsoft will offer these games via download, streaming, or both. For what it's worth, the company already offers its own Xbox Cloud Gaming service that lets Xbox Game Pass subscribers stream games over the internet to their PC, console, or mobile device.
The announcement also comes after Google and Apple faced extensive criticism over their own app store duopoly, with the two companies forced to make changes by various governments.