Microsoft is currently making plans to create its own mobile game shop in an effort to break the duopoly, and the business is relying on regulations to do it.
Microsoft's head of gaming, Phil Spencer in an interview with the Financial Times announced that the EU's Digital Market Act (DMA), which will go into force in March 2024, will benefit Microsoft in realising its goal of creating a mobile app store.
By requesting that Apple and Google open up their systems, DMA will enable businesses to load their app stores on iPhones and Android phones.
“We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,” Spencer told FT.
“Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up.”
Regarding its Cloud Gaming software, Microsoft has encountered issues with Apple.
Each game, including Fortnite, that was playable through Microsoft's cloud service had to be downloaded by consumers, according to the iPhone manufacturer. In order to sign in, Microsoft now wants users to use the Safari browser and follow steps, which are more difficult to complete than installing an app from the App Store.
Microsoft's decision to begin developing its own games shop is not unexpected given Apple's limitations on downloads and in-app purchases.
Inquiries about Microsoft's plans to create a rival app store were not immediately answered by Apple or Google.
Microsoft has bought a tonne of gaming developers over the past five years, including Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Zenimax Media, the owner of Bethesda, and most recently Activision Blizzard.
Via a separate store containing games like "Call of Duty Mobile" and "Candy Crush Saga" along with planned releases, the company's most recent acquisition can help it gain a foothold in the mobile market.
Particularly, Activision Blizzard has benefited financially from its mobile game business.
Thus Microsoft will have a competitive advantage by managing distribution through its own shop.
The Activision Blizzard acquisition is under scrutiny by US, UK, and EU regulators, which presents Microsoft with its largest hurdle.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced last month that it is opening an antitrust probe against the acquisition because it may result in "higher pricing, fewer choices" for the nation's gamers.
Microsoft has made the claim that it is prepared to make a long-term commitment to make well-known titles like "Call of Duty" available on rival platforms in an effort to placate the authorities.
To deliver Microsoft games to Nintendo platforms, the tech giant has announced a 10-year agreement.
Moreover, Microsoft has consented to transfer these titles to cloud gaming services provided by Nvidia, Boosteroid, and Ubitus.
0 Comment(s)
SPONSORED
HEADLINE
TRENDING