Phil Spencer says Microsoft would launch an Xbox mobile game store in 2024, but it depends on one condition

Microsoft is preparing for launch an Xbox store on iOS and Android next yearaccording to Phil Spencer, the head of the company’s video game division.

According to a report published on the website of EngadgetSpencer shared the timeline in an interview with Financial Timesnoting that plan hinges on regulators approving Microsoft’s plan for Activision Blizzard’s $68.7 billion acquisition.

Spencer detailed: “We want to be able to deliver Xbox and content from both ourselves and our third-party partners to any screen someone wants to play on. Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices, but whatWe want to build a world that we believe will get where those devices open up.”.

Since 2022 there is talk of the Xbox mobile store

Microsoft first revealed that it was working on an Xbox store for mobile devices in regulatory documents the company filed with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year.

At the time, the tech giant did not provide a timeline for the plan, noting that only his merger proposal with Activision Blizzard would play a fundamental role.

Spencer was more direct in the interview: “The Digital Markets Law that is coming, that is the type of thing that we are planning. I think it is a great opportunity”.

Under the Digital Market Laws (DMA), the main platforms that the European Union designates as “gatekeepers” will have to open their devices to competing app stores. Last fall, news broke that Apple was already at work preparing to bring iOS into compliance with the legislation before the March 2024 deadline.

The EU will allow companies it labels as gatekeepers to appeal the designation, an exception that could delay enforcement of the law. Plus, with challenges from the Federal Trade Commission and CMA, there’s no guarantee Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will close before the new rules apply to Apple and Google, a fact Spencer seemed to acknowledge.