That’s interesting, because we wrote in late February of this year that “in an interview with The Times, Xbox chief Phil Spencer revealed something exciting: Microsoft wants its own App Store.”
Next year it will happen
Further: “The article stated that Microsoft hopes it can ‘increase competition’ in the mobile app segment by launching a competing app store. They want to start with games, so naturally Spencer is the first to come out.”
Spencer also added that “we definitely have government support when we talk about unlocking cell phones and being a trusted third party on devices – we’re a long way from that now”.
DMA will change a lot
That’s what he’s talking about now again (at the time we wrote that “Microsoft could wait until Apple is finally forced by the European Union to allow alternatives to its App Store, but it’s basically free on Android”) during a new interview with Financial Times, it is precisely the EU’s “Digital Markets Act” that allows operating system manufacturers to add support for third-party app stores.
Apple just has to open up the biggest ones, because that’s already possible with Android. However, Google may have to make this possibility more central to the operating system.
Spencer admits that Microsoft’s lack of mobile gaming is a “hole” for the company, but it would be trivial for them to create the Xbox App Store.
If Microsoft could buy Activision/Blizzard, they would suddenly have a bunch of the best AAA games to promote and showcase on many platforms. The company wants you to be able to play Xbox games regardless of platform, thus putting pressure on Xbox Game Pass marketing.
This is the law of digital markets
The Digital Markets Act is one of two big EU laws that will change the web as we know it. Both bills were passed last summer – when we reported the following:
The Digital Markets Act, which we explained in March this year, among other things opens instant messaging across platforms – let’s deal with that first:
“Users of small or large platforms will be able to exchange messages, send files or make video calls via messaging applications, giving them more options. Regarding the interoperability obligation of social networks, the participating legislators agreed that interoperability provisions will be considered in the future.
The law covers more than messaging apps, as the EU also wants full control over apps and services that run on a mobile phone, with an option for users to uninstall pre-installed software and options about what services a user wants to use when setting up the device for the first time.
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