Microsoft’s Xbox mobile gaming store is launching in July, will be focused on first-party games

Microsoft has finally confirmed the launch of the Xbox mobile store, and it’s launching in the next two months. This comes after years of rumours and speculations about Microsoft having its own mobile gaming store. But what problem does the Xbox mobile gaming store solve? And how does it plan to avoid Apple’s App Store rules? Read along to find out.

Xbox mobile store release timeline, expected games

Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed the launch date of the Xbox mobile store at the Bloomberg Technology Summit. She not only confirmed the release date of the gaming store but also highlighted how it plans to deal with strict rules from the likes of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.

Starting with the release, the Xbox mobile gaming store is set for release in July. However, we do not have an exact release date yet. But still, July is almost here and we don’t have to wait for too long.  Since it will be a Microsoft-owned store, it will be focused on first-party mobile games from the company. This means we will see games like Minecraft, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty: Mobile. Two of these games are by Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft owns.

Web-only mobile store

With the Xbox mobile store launch, Microsoft is trying to build a store that’s truly accessible across devices, revealed Bond. But how does it plan to do that given the stringent rules from Google and Apple for its app stores? Microsoft’s Xbox gaming mobile store will initially be a web-only mobile store, which means everyone can access it. It will offer an alternative to the Play Store and App Store. So it won’t necessarily solve any problem, but will act as an alternative and having alternatives is always better.

This appears to have some linkages with the rules set by Europe’s Digital Markets Act and the US’s actions that forced Apple and Google to open up their mobile stores. And so, although the Xbox mobile store will be web-only at launch, it will extend beyond the web, as hinted by Bond. That said, we can expect a potential app for the gaming store later.

It is worth noting that Microsoft has been attempting to work on a mobile gaming site since early 2022. However, it wasn’t a smooth sail for Microsoft, but that appears to change. Now that we know the release month, we expect to get an official date soon.