Microsoft’s Xbox app store appears to be a little closer to launching following the landmark ruling that cracked open Apple’s iOS store in the US.
As reported by The Verge, in amongst the drama of Apple and Epic’s tussle over the release of Fortnite in the US, Microsoft also quietly filed a brief in support of Epic’s case.
The court document reportedly states that up until this point, Microsoft’s attempts to launch its own app store on iOS have been “stymied” by Apple’s policies.
“Prior to the district court’s most recent order, Microsoft had been unable to implement linked-out payments (or even inform customers that alternative purchase methods exist) because of Apple’s new anti-steering policies that restrict Microsoft’s communication to users,” says Microsoft, according to The Verge.
All that might explain why there’s still no sign of the Xbox app store nearly a year after it was slated to launch.
Microsoft first stated it wanted to launch its own Xbox app store as the acquisition of King owner Activision Blizzard started working its way through the courts. That idea was later referred to as a ‘gamer-first’ Xbox app store by Microsoft games boss Phil Spencer in early 2024, and in May of last year, Xbox president Sarah Bond said Microsoft planned to launch its rival to Apple and Google’s app stores in July 2024.
It would initially launch as a web store, Bond said. “You’re going to see games like Candy Crush show up in that experience, games like Minecraft,” she continued. “And then we’re going to extend that capability to partners so that they can also take advantage of it and have a true cross-platform gaming-centric mobile experience.”
But as that supposed July launch approached, we were told that while a small number of third party mobile game studios were talking to Microsoft about the store under NDA, a July launch seemed very unlikely. One source said: “There is no detail out there and who knows what the fuck is happening at Microsoft right now. It is possible they have no clue either.”
In August 2024, Microsoft told us: “Testing has begun for our browser-based mobile store. Our work is progressing well and we will have more to share in the future.”
Following the latest US ruling, Microsoft is now free to point players wherever it pleases, meaning it could offer its own payment solution – through its existing web-based Microsoft Store, for example – for IAPs across its leading mobile games, including Candy Crush Saga, Call of Duty: Mobile, Diablo Immortal and Minecraft.
