Microsoft announced in November that it plans to make it possible to purchase and play Xbox games directly from the Xbox app on Android.
The announcement comes in the wake of a recent ruling by a US judge forcing Google to open its Play Store to competitors for three years. A ruling in a long-running legal battle between Fortnite maker Epic Games and the internet giant has led to Google listing third-party Android app stores on the Play Store and adding third-party app stores to Google Play’s app catalog. Meaning you need to allow full access.
For Microsoft, the ruling means Xbox games can be freely sold on Android devices and Gamers will be able to stream instantly upon purchase within the same app, without using Google Play Billing.
Xbox President Sarah Bond announced in a tweet: “The court’s decision to open Google’s mobile store in the U.S. gives us more choice and flexibility. Our mission is to help more players play on more devices. That’s why we’re excited to share that starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox app on Android.
Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney says, “Thanks to the Epic vs. Google win, Google’s scary screen and Google’s 30% app tax will go away.” Epic Games Store will become Google Play Store in the US in 2025. He said he would appear.
However, Google announced that it would appeal this decision, arguing that: blog post “These changes will jeopardize consumer privacy and security, make it harder for developers to promote their apps, and reduce competition on the device,” the company told the court, pending an appeal. Epic is asking us to pause the requested changes while we do so.
“Ultimately, these changes, while likely satisfying Epic, will cause a variety of unintended consequences that will harm U.S. consumers, developers, and device manufacturers,” Google claims. .
Meanwhile, Microsoft is working on its own browser-based Xbox mobile store to compete with the Google Play Store and App Store. In fact, its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which owns Candy Crush maker King, was driven in part by a desire to beef up its mobile gaming offerings ahead of the store’s launch.
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find me on Twitter @wyp100. Wesley can be reached at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
