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Phil Spencer says that Microsoft will open its own app store for games that can be played on mobile devices. The EU Digital Markets Law says that new rules will be implemented in March 2024. These rules will require Apple and Google to open up their mobile platforms to app stores that are owned and managed by other companies.
Microsoft wants to take advantage of this with its own Xbox platform, which is one of the main reasons it wants to buy Activision Blizzard.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said: “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.” “We can’t do that on mobile right now, but we want to prepare for a future where we think those devices will be more open.”
Although Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard has raised concerns about competition in the industry, Spencer said the deal would increase competition in the mobile space, which he called “the biggest platform people play games on.” .
“Things like the next Digital Markets Law are what we are planning,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity.” It’s unclear when Microsoft will be able to open its own store, but Spencer said getting Xbox and Game Pass to work on mobile would be “quite easy.”
Spencer said that buying Activision Blizzard would also fill an “obvious hole in our capabilities.” Games like Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and Candy Crush Saga are “critically important” to bring players to their new platform, which is why the company wants to buy Activision Blizzard.
But for this to happen, both the Activision Blizzard deal and the EU DMA need to be approved. The EU is likely to call Apple and Google “gatekeepers” of mobile devices, but they could file an appeal to stop any app until after the March 2024 deadline.
Microsoft has said that Apple’s rules for the App Store make it difficult to offer cloud gaming in a single iPhone app that runs natively. Apple has said it doesn’t block apps for cloud gaming.
The European Commission was supposed to decide on Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard before April 25, but that date was moved to May 22 last week.
While there’s been a lot of disagreement about the importance of Call of Duty, Spencer’s comments suggest that mobile gaming is a much bigger reason for the deal to go through.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn