Regulatory control upon purchase ActivisionBlizzard reveals more details about Microsoft’s plans if the $68.7 billion deal goes through. One of the latest revelations indicates that the people of Redmond want create a mobile games store under the Xbox brandto directly compete with Apple’s and Google’s offerings in the App Store and Play Store, respectively.
The novelty became known from documents submitted by Microsoft during an investigation conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority of the United Kingdom (CMA) to decide whether to approve the acquisition or not. In them, those led by Satya Nadella make it clear that Activision Blizzard is critical to its Xbox expansion strategy in the mobile world.
In fact, the Americans indicate that their intention is to create a next-generation game store that runs on multiple platforms; including mobile phones. However, they understand that finding a place in such a desirable and competitive market will not be easy.
“Building on Activision Blizzard’s existing player communities, Xbox will look to scale its mobile store by bringing gamers to the new Xbox mobile platform. However, moving consumers away from the Google Play Store and the App Store on mobile devices will require major changes. in their behaviour. Microsoft hopes that by offering familiar and popular content, gamers will be more inclined to try new things.
Xbox wants to add presence to mobile gaming
In another excerpt from documents submitted to the CMA, Microsoft states that Activision Blizzard has resources and experience to give Xbox a significant foothold in the mobile gaming market. He even mentions specific cases, for example, Call of Duty: Mobile and titles developed by King, a firm after candy crushwhich has been operating as a subsidiary of the Californian studio since 2016.
In fact, Redmond officials claim that in the first half of 2022, more than half of Activision Blizzard’s revenue came from mobile games. But that’s not all, as these titles are also delivered three-quarters of total monthly active users.
“Microsoft does not currently have a significant presence in mobile games and the deal will bring much-needed expertise in mobile game development, marketing and advertising. Activision Blizzard will be able to share its knowledge of mobile game development and publishing with Xbox game studios,” they added.
A project with great potential
Undoubtedly, the potential emergence of the mobile games store for Xbox opens up a number of very interesting opportunities for this sector. Although its implementation It also won’t happen overnight.even as regulators finally approve Activision Blizzard’s purchase.
The main problem with landing aggressively to compete with Google and Apple on Android and iOS respectively is on Apple’s side. It is known that the inhabitants of Cupertino do not allow third party stores on your operating system, which represents a major hurdle for Microsoft. In the end, let’s not forget that Xbox Cloud Gaming only works on iPhone or iPad via a web browser.
It will also be important for the Xbox parent to be able to convince developers to create new games that are mobile-first. And also to ensure that its operation will not conflict with the current availability of Game Pass and the aforementioned xCloud on this platform.
Source: Hiper Textual
