Microsoft is creating an Xbox mobile store to take on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, it revealed in filings with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and previously reported by The Verge. It comes as the agency investigates Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which the company says will help fill out its upcoming Xbox Mobile Platform.
In its response to a CMA decision to refer the acquisition for a secondary review, Microsoft argued that gamers will be more likely to try its Xbox mobile store if they see that it includes well-known games.
“Building on Activision Blizzard’s existing communities of gamers, Xbox will seek to scale the Xbox Store to mobile, attracting gamers to a new Xbox Mobile Platform,” it said. “Shifting consumers away from the Google Play Store and App Store on mobile devices will, however, require a major shift in consumer behavior.”
Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Overwatch are just some of the megafranchises in the Activision Blizzard stable — ideal for creating the major shift Microsoft is after. Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga are among the company’s current mobile hits.
Beyond the UK, the European Commission reportedly probed rival gaming companies on the acquisition by asking how it could give them an unfair advantage earlier this month. In August, Microsoft downplayed concerns over the acquisition by telling New Zealand regulators that Activision Blizzard doesn’t make any “must-have” games.
Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the Xbox Mobile Platform.
Microsoft’s Xbox Mobile Gaming Store Rising as Apple, Google Competitor
