Microsoft to launch its own mobile game store in July: Here’s what we know so far

Xbox president Sarah Bond has announced that Microsoft will be launching a web based mobile game store sometime in July.

Microsoft mobile game store | Microsoft web game store | Microsoft game store

Microsoft's web based mobile game store will have titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga. (Image Source: Reuters)

Microsoft is gearing up to launch its very own online mobile game store sometime in July. Speaking at the Bloomberg Technology Summit, Xbox president Sarah Bond said the store will have games from various Microsoft game studios.

According to Bloomberg, the browser-based gaming store will feature games like Candy Crush Saga and Call of Duty: Mobile and offer various discounts on different in-game items. Bond said that since the store will be available on the web instead of an app, it will be “accessible across all devices, all countries, no matter what, independent of the policies of closed ecosystem stores.”

The Xbox president added that irrespective of “who you are, your library, your identity, your rewards travel with you versus being locked to a single ecosystem.” The move will also allow Microsoft to bypass the hefty commission fees implied by Google and Apple, which sometimes amount to 30 per cent.

Sarah Bond, @Microsoft’s Xbox president, announced at #BloombergTech that the company will launch its own mobile game store in July, creating an alternative to Apple and Google’s app stores pic.twitter.com/hj6eLtsGfl

— Bloomberg Live (@BloombergLive) May 9, 2024

With the majority of games already available on rival app stores like the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, it will be interesting to see what type of discounts Microsoft will offer to lure gamers to download and purchase the latest titles from its web store.

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Microsoft may be the largest gaming company, but the tech giant has been falling behind in the mobile gaming market. Bond also hinted that the tech giant might eventually launch a true rival to Google and Apple’s app store at some point, but did not share any details about the same.

In 2020, when Epic Games announced that gamers would be getting a 20 per cent discount if they bought Fortnite currency from the website, both Apple and Google removed the popular game from their app stores. The move was challenged by Epic Games, who filed a lawsuit against both tech giants, accusing them of monopolistic behaviour.