Last year, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Several regulatory bodies including the European Commission have started in-depth investigation into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
To get approval from regulatory bodies like the European Commission, Microsoft last month announced partnerships with Nintendo and NVIDIA.
- Microsoft signed a 10-year legal agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms
- Microsoft also announced that it will bring Xbox PC games to the NVIDIA GeForce NOW cloud gaming service
Today, The Financial Times reported that Microsoft is planning to launch an app store for mobile games on iOS and Android if the Activision Blizzard deal gets approval from regulatory bodies.
Right now, both Google Play Store and Apple App Store prohibit 3rd party games store to be published in their respective platforms. But under the EU’s Digital Markets Act which will come to effect in March 2024, Google and Apple will be forced to open up their mobile platforms to app stores owned and operated by other companies. Microsoft is planning to take advantage of this new rule and launch its games store with titles including Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and Candy Crush Saga.
“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,” Phil SPENCER from Microsoft.
According to Microsoft, adapting its Xbox and Game Pass apps to offer games and subscriptions on mobile devices would not pose a significant challenge. Moreover, it expects that Activision Blizzard will complement its portfolio by providing mobile games, which is an area where Microsoft currently lacks expertise.
