Microsoft confirms that it is developing an alternative store to Google Play and App Store. It makes more sense than ever

Satya Nadella’s new Microsoft is not resting on its laurels and, literally, goes for all. The company, which is a heavyweight in the cloud computing sector with Azure and is revitalizing its search and office automation proposals with artificial intelligence, has decided to bet heavily on the video game industry.

Microsoft does not want to be a mere spectator in the changes that the Digital Markets Law (DMA) will bring about. By 2024, Apple and Google may be forced to allow third-party app stores to run on their mobile operating systems (iOS and Android). That, precisely, is where those from Redmond want to enter.

More options to download games

The legal battle for the purchase of Activision Blizzard, another of Microsoft’s master moves, left us some really juicy data. One of them is that the company led by Nadella was considering launching its own mobile game store. Now it has been Phil Spencer himself, head of Xbox, who has confirmed it.

In an interview with Financial Times, the manager believes that the DMA is a great opportunity that should not be missed. In that sense, he explains that they are working on a mobile application store that could arrive next year to allow them to offer Xbox games and subscriptions, as well as “external partner” proposals.

According to Spencer, titles like ‘Call of Duty Mobile’, ‘Diablo Immortal’ and ‘Candy Crush Saga’ are expected to form part of the catalog of games from the future app store. This route would also allow them to bypass the App Store restrictions that prevent the Game Pass cloud game from working on iOS devices (although there are alternatives).

For all this to come true, however, two requirements must be met. On the one hand, the purchase of Activision Blizzard, which has been under the scrutiny of different regulators, should be completed. In addition, as planned, the European Union will have to force Apple and Google to change the way applications are distributed on iOS and Android.

Images: Tyler Lastovich | Microsoft

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