Microsoft Wants Its Own Xbox Mobile Gaming App Store

Microsoft is so eager to enter the mobile gaming business that a significant portion of its intentions to acquire a sizable portion of the game publishing industry appears to depend on developing its own mobile gaming app store. The Verge was the first to point out that Microsoft's filings to the UK for the company's ongoing Activision Blizzard acquisition revealed its future plans for establishing a mobile gaming store that would feature titles from the publisher's extensive catalog. The filing was prepared for the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority. The nation's competition authority declared earlier this year that it was looking into the company's plans for its $68.7 billion acquisition of the fifth-largest video game publisher in the world.

More on the filings for acquiring Activision Blizzard

Microsoft uses words like "expand choice" and "bringing more games to mobile platforms" because the U.K. is looking into whether the third-largest tech corporation is attempting to establish a monopoly. In a later section of the filing, the company claimed that the acquisition will enhance Microsoft's capacity to develop a next-generation game store that runs on a variety of devices, including mobile. As a result, this would supposedly add Activision Blizzard content, such as popular titles like Call of Duty: Mobile or the much-maligned Diablo: Immortal. Furthermore, Activision Blizzard's acquisition would also include King, the company behind the enduring mobile sensation Candy Crush Saga. According to the filing, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush are the other two main franchises that generate more than three-quarters of Activision Blizzard's net revenues. So, putting such titles on its mobile store would certainly give Microsoft's nascent service a significant boost. Moreover, the Activision Blizzard deal "provides Microsoft with capabilities and content on mobile, which it currently lacks, while creating new distribution options for game developers outside of mobile app stores." The company also added that the new merger would increase the amount of content available through its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. According to the firm, adding Blizzard titles to streaming platforms would result in an increase of several million members. However, Microsoft hasn't yet commented regarding any potential future plans for an Xbox mobile game shop. According to a marketing graph on Microsoft's merger page, the company believes mobile gaming represents a far larger share of the market than combined PC and Console gaming.

What's more

Microsoft acknowledged that it would need "a shift in consumer behavior" for it to compete with Google and Apple. Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft announced the "Open App Store Principles" earlier this year, saying they would restrict themselves from utilizing app store information to compete with the apps of other developers. Additionally, Apple forbids any other business from opening an app store on iOS, thus excluding it from those devices. In addition, the company noted in the filing, introducing a new mobile gaming store would "increase the attractiveness of Microsoft’s advertising business." Although the business would need the support of other publishers to make headway in the larger app market. On another note, given that Epic Games recently fought with Apple, Microsoft may have a buddy in this company. Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic, claimed that Apple needs to support other app shops or outside payment options. In addition, users can already play Fortnite on almost any mobile device using Xbox Cloud Gaming. Moreover, this move by Microsoft may create one of Apple's and Google's largest new rivals. The two titans of the software market, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, continue to dominate iOS and Android smartphones, respectively. Of course, such an effort may equally fail horribly. One recent example of poorly planned and poorly thought-out gaming ventures from major digital corporations is the recent demise of Google Stadia.

Bottom line

It appears that Microsoft is attempting to reduce the role that consoles have in its game business. Also, the "Keystone" streaming box, said to enable gamers to play games without needing to purchase a machine for several hundred dollars, is the subject of persistent rumors. In addition, Game Pass is already available on some Samsung TVs. Additionally, Microsoft is on a mission to convince regulators in various countries that acquiring a sizable portion of the video game market all at once was beneficial for the global economy. The business also touted its efforts to work with unions to create a "neutrality agreement" and do away with NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and non-compete clauses.