Microsoft is readying to launch an Xbox games store on the iPhone as early as 2024, but the rollout depends on multiple regulatory measures, says Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Spencer said the iPhone app’s launch hinges on whether or not regulators approve the Redmond company’s acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard. The purchase would give Microsoft a wider portfolio of mobile games. Also, the app could only launch if the EU’s Digital Markets Act and other regulations allowing for alternative app stores on Apple’s iOS and iPadOS devices are actually enforced.
“We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,” Spencer told the Financial Times. “Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices, but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up.”
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman in December 2022 said that Apple was making preparations to allow alternative app stores on the iPhone. The move will be made to comply with the Digital Markets Act, which is expected to come into effect in March 2024. Gurman said the changes would be rolled out in an iOS 17 update next year for only European iPhone users, meaning the Xbox games store would not initially be available in the U.S.
While Xbox already offers cloud gaming on the iPhone, the games must be played in a browser instead of in an app from the App Store.