Xbox Games Cheap – Microsoft to Launch Xbox Games Store on iPhones

Microsoft aims to launch an Xbox app store on iPhones. However, it relies on regulators approving its acquisition of Activision and Blizzard. This is according to an interview with Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer in the Financial Times. This app store would only be available in Europe initially, as it would depend on the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Other regulations allowing for alternative app stores on iOS are also a requirement. If successful, we may be able to buy and play Xbox games cheap on iPhones.

Xbox Games Cheap – Microsoft Relying on Digital Markets Act

Spencer believes that smartphones are the largest platform people play on. So, it would be “pretty trivial” for Microsoft to “adapt its Xbox and Game Pass apps to sell games and subscriptions on mobile devices.”

However, the current lack of mobile games is an “obvious hole in our capability.” This is where the Activision and Blizzard deal comes in.

So, Microsoft can then acquire hit games such as Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal, and Candy Crush Saga.

The Digital Markets Act will ask Apple to loosen its grip on the iPhone. So, third-party app store alternatives will be available for the first time. This is expected to come into effect in March 2024.

Apple has faced a lot of regulatory scrutiny over its tight control of the App Store. In fact, the company even made changes in some countries, and an example is allowing alternative payments in South Korea.

The Role of Digital Markets Act

The Digital Markets Act is a new piece of law that will go into effect in the EU in 2024. The act forces Apple to allow third-party App Store alternatives for the first time on iPhone.

This means that Apple may no longer have exclusive control over the App Store. So, users may have the option to download apps from alternative app stores.

The Digital Markets Act will also require big tech companies like Apple to be more transparent. This covers both their app store policies and algorithms.

The expected outcome is more competition and innovation in the app store market. Smaller app stores will have a better chance to compete with the big players this way.

The Battle Between Microsoft and Apple

Microsoft and Apple have sparred for years over App Store rules. Right now, they forbid Microsoft from offering a dedicated cloud gaming app on the iPhone.

Apple’s policies require each game to show as an individual listing on the App Store. So, Microsoft offers its Xbox Cloud Gaming service as a web-based app for iPhone and iPad users for now.

Xbox Games Cheap – An Uncertain Future

Currently, there are still regulatory hurdles to overcome before an Xbox app store can come to iPhones. The app store’s launch depends on regulators approving Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision and Blizzard. That itself is also facing regulatory scrutiny of its own. So, seeing Xbox games cheap like Witcher 3 might still be a long way to go.