Xbox enters mobile gaming with a new platform to rival Apple and Google

LAST year Microsoft completed the deal to purchase publisher Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering $69billion.

It was the biggest acquisition ever in gaming, and one of Microsoft's top reasons to buy the company was to acquire its mobile division King.

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King is best known for the Candy Crush series, which is one of the most popular gaming series of all time.

Microsoft has been talking about a mobile gaming app for a number of years, where gamers can play Xbox first-party games on the go.

While the app hasn’t launched yet, that will be changing shortly.

Speaking to , Xbox president Sarah Bond says: “This year we will debut our first mobile offering where mobile players can find deals on their favorite in-game items and discover new games, starting on the web so players can access it anywhere.

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“This web-based store is the first step in our journey to building a trusted app store with its roots in gaming.”

Bond announced that this web-based version will launch in July 2024, with plans to upgrade it to a mobile app at a later date.

At the Bloomberg Technology Summit, Bond made further comments on the subject, saying: “We’re going to start by bringing our own first-party portfolio to [the Xbox mobile store], so you’re going to see games like Candy Crush show up in that experience, games like Minecraft.

“We’re going to start on the web, and we’re doing that because that really allows us to have it be an experience that’s accessible across all devices, all countries, no matter what and independent of the policies of closed ecosystem stores.”

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The type of app storefront she’s describing would rival Apple’s App Store, and Android’s Google Play but would only feature mobile games.

If you want to read more about Xbox, check out the four studios Xbox shut down, including one focused on mobile games.

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