It has been the legal battle of the century, but the outcome has been as expected for Microsoft. After acquiring Activision/Blizzard, Xbox is reportedly working on creating a game store for smartphones called Xbox Mobile Store.
Journalist Tom Warren from The Verge appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the Iron Lords podcast to discuss the consequences of the successful closure of the Microsoft Xbox merger with Activision Blizzard valued at 68.7 billion dollars.
Tom Warren emphasized the importance of the mobile market in this agreement and added that Microsoft still intends to launch an Xbox store for mobile devices at some point next year.
These statements explain Microsoft’s roadmap
“For them, it’s the aspect of controlling these games, having them on Game Pass. I think many of the things that haven’t been talked about because they’ve been overshadowed by the CMA and the cloud are mobile devices. All of this about mobiles is huge,” he explains.
“All of this is related to Microsoft’s creation of an Xbox store for mobiles that could be launched next year, depending on some of the EU regulations that might open up stores for mobiles. If all that comes to fruition, it’s going to be very interesting to publish a good number of mobile games,” he points out.
We have seen how Apple introduced games like Resident Evil Village and others on the iPhone 15 Pro. So, we are in a new moment of mobile gaming. We are at the peak, where mobiles could become much more interesting and have native games, not just in the cloud.
It appears that the launch of the Xbox store for mobiles is scheduled for 2024. As you may recall, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, had first announced it as a significant possibility after the closure of the deal with Activision Blizzard:
Phil Spencer stated that Activision Blizzard King’s strength in the mobile sector was a key factor in the acquisition. Microsoft had come to the conclusion that the gaming business would be unsustainable without a strong position in the constantly growing mobile market.
Activision/Blizzard/King are now in a position where they have major franchises for PC, consoles, and mobile devices. That’s why the purchase is easy to understand.
