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[Topher]

Microsoft is taking advantage of a US court ruling that forces Google to crack open Android for third-party stores.

---

Microsoft is planning to update its Xbox mobile app on Android to allow US users to purchase and then play Xbox games on their mobile devices next month. Following a US court ruling earlier this week that forces Google to stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps in the Play Store on November 1st, Microsoft is ready to take advantage of the changes.

“The court’s ruling to open up Google’s mobile store in the US will allow more choice and flexibility,” says Xbox president Sarah Bond in a post on X. “Our mission is to allow more players to play on more devices so we are thrilled to share that starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android.”



Google’s Android app store is an illegal monopoly, and the search giant has been ordered to open up the Play Store to competition for three years. This means no longer forcing developers to use its own Google Play Billing after a jury found that Google had illegally tied its payment system to its app store. Google will also have to distribute rival third-party app stores within Google Play.

Xbox store purchase support directly in the mobile Android app will allow Microsoft to sell Xbox games freely on Android devices, and integrated Xbox Cloud Gaming features mean people will be able to immediately stream games to their handsets after purchasing them.

It’s not immediately clear why Microsoft can’t already provide Xbox game purchases inside its Android mobile app, though. You can buy games from Steam or the PlayStation Store on mobile devices, so Microsoft has long been the exception here. I asked Microsoft for more details on the store changes, but the company says Bond’s statement is all it has to share right now.

Separately, Microsoft is also working on a browser-based Xbox mobile store that it was originally planning to launch in July. The store will eventually focus on first-party mobile games from Microsoft’s various studios, but initially it will feature deals and in-game items. Microsoft said in August that testing had begun on the web-based mobile store and “work is progressing well and we will have more to share in the future.”

Xbox will sell games directly in the Android app next month

Microsoft is taking advantage of a US court ruling.

www.theverge.com

---

I was trying to figure out the highlight part as well. What has prevented Microsoft from doing this?

 

[Ozriel]

I was trying to figure out the highlight part as well. What has prevented Microsoft from doing this?

I wonder if it’s the streaming part that makes it an issue. Apple, for example, refused to approve super apps that would allow you stream other games from it…unless they were allowed an IAP cut.

Not sure it’s an apt comparison with just using apps to buy games on Steam or PSN to play on console.

Edit: First comment there seems to confirm this:

They actually used to allow you do buy games in the Xbox mobile app, but they got rid of it when they added remote console streaming to the app in 2020. That's the reason why: because having both in the same app technically meant that you could buy AND play games in the same app and thus Microsoft would have been subjected to Google Play Billing (and Apple's IAP system as well). This is pretty much also the same reason why PS Remote Play and Steam Link are separate apps on mobile and not features in the PlayStation and Steam mobile apps respectively.

 

[Robochobo]

I would assume it's because you can't stream those games directly to the phone without the need for additional hardware. I can pay for games on my Steam app, yes, but I can only remote play it from my PC or Laptop. Not sure how it works on the PS App but I would guess it works that way as well.

 

[AndrewRyan]

Guessing it's the sharing of the reoccurring monthly fee that was the problem. Many don't mind giving 30% for app purchases but object to sharing monthly fees.

 

[ManaByte]

You can buy games from Steam or the PlayStation Store on mobile devices, so Microsoft has long been the exception here

Because those apps open a web browser instance for purchases. They’re technically doing it through the browser and not the app.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

and now they will realize first hand that mobile is not their panacea

 

[Unknown?]

Nooooo! They finally made me an Xbox owner. *throws away phone and gets a landline*

 

[lh032]

All Android users are Xbox gamers now

 

[Topher]

Because those apps open a web browser instance for purchases. They’re technically doing it through the browser and not the app.

No, they do not. I just tried with both and they never leave the app all the way to the final purchase confirmation.

 

[ManaByte]

No, they do not. I just tried with both and they never leave the app all the way to the final purchase confirmation.

I buy games all the time on the PS app (iOS). The checkout screen is a mobile Safari page. They do that to skirt the 30% cut to Apple.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

All Android users are Xbox gamers now

This is why they bought ABK

 

[Topher]

I buy games all the time on the PS app (iOS). The checkout screen is a mobile Safari page. They do that to skirt the 30% cut to Apple.

This is Android. Read the article.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Microsoft also generates a CRAP ton of revenue from their mobile IP portfolio. Setting the ground work for their android and ios app stores (mobile content centric) has to be part of this move at some point as well.

 

[adamsapple]

One step closer to putting game pass on playstation.

 

[Topher]

One step closer to putting game pass on playstation.

you are connecting dots between two different coloring books my man

 

[namenotfound]

My eyes are on Valve to do a Proton for Android and if Epic doesn't do something similar for Android EGS, Winlator or some other project do it because of all the free games they've given out along with Amazon Prime gaming. I've been planning this upcoming year to maybe buy a new phone with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 if I can turn my phone into a smaller lightweight Steam Deck that's also my phone. With that, I'd be done with PC handhelds. Past year I've been testing out games at the 4w-10w TDP settings on a Legion Go watching Winlator performance inch up ready for even better long flight entertainment that isn't packing a big PC handheld or Switch with me

 

[Segaswirl]

Still waiting on Candy Crush getting Xbox achievements.

 

[newtypepilot]

just imagine all the new engagements!!!

 

[odhiex]

Is it playing XBOX (console+PC) games on Android through Cloud streaming? or dedicated mobile games for Android?

 

[Quantum253]

Do I get access to all the Xbox live games I purchased during the 360 years. Be nice to have them on my phone

 

[Unknown?]

One step closer to putting game pass on playstation.

It will be rebranded to Play Pass.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

you are connecting dots between two different coloring books my man

So does that mean he is right since said dots connected

 

[delfrickintree]

My eyes are on Valve to do a Proton for Android and if Epic doesn't do something similar for Android EGS, Winlator or some other project do it because of all the free games they've given out along with Amazon Prime gaming. I've been planning this upcoming year to maybe buy a new phone with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 if I can turn my phone into a smaller lightweight Steam Deck that's also my phone. With that, I'd be done with PC handhelds. Past year I've been testing out games at the 4w-10w TDP settings on a Legion Go watching Winlator performance inch up ready for even better long flight entertainment that isn't packing a big PC handheld or Switch with me

That would indeed be fascinating, although it probably won't happen for some time. I was just watching a video from Retro Gane Corps about some really advanced controller adapters that would probably work for the future phones you speak of.

 

[Topher]

So does that mean he is right since said dots connected

 

[adamsapple]

So does that mean he is right since said dots connected

 

[namenotfound]

That would indeed be fascinating, although it probably won't happen for some time. I was just watching a video from Retro Gane Corps about some really advanced controller adapters that would probably work for the future phones you speak of.

https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=winlator&sp=EgIIBA%253D%253D

Check out recent Winlator gameplay vids on YouTube. Right now Steam doesn't work but you can run GoG games. Actually I think you can take the folder of a game you install from steam and there's something somewhere on GitHub to run that'll let you run it in Winlator

Drivers for the latest Qualcomm chips take a while to mature so there's room for improvement but 8 Gen 3 phones now aren't terribly far off from the Steam Deck playing at 720p or 540p. 540p on a small phone display probably looks solid. I just need a new phone to test myself

 

[FoxMcChief]

All Android users are Xbox gamers now

Always have been.

 

[bender]

So does that mean he is right since said dots connected

His mom should have never given him that non-toxic glue pen.

 

[Ozriel]

and now they will realize first hand that mobile is not their panacea

Not when they’re making around $1 billion a year in revenue from Candy Crush…and hundreds of millions of dollars yearly from COD Mobile.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Not when they’re making around $1 billion a year in revenue from Candy Crush…and hundreds of millions of dollars yearly from COD Mobile.

for ABK. those games ain't saving a fail division like xbox

 

[Ozriel]

for ABK. those games ain't saving a fail division like xbox

Even for you, this is quite the take indeed.

 

[Alan Wake]

Every screen is an Xbox.

 

[Goalus]

It will be rebranded to Play Pass.

It would need to be rebranded to Pay Pass should the Paystation ever be included.

 

[clarky]

What's the point? They don't sell games directly on the Xbox.

 

[Little Chicken]

I wonder if they'll make a mobile port of OW2.

 

[Barakov]

Microsoft is taking advantage of a US court ruling that forces Google to crack open Android for third-party stores.

---

Microsoft is planning to update its Xbox mobile app on Android to allow US users to purchase and then play Xbox games on their mobile devices next month. Following a US court ruling earlier this week that forces Google to stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps in the Play Store on November 1st, Microsoft is ready to take advantage of the changes.

“The court’s ruling to open up Google’s mobile store in the US will allow more choice and flexibility,” says Xbox president Sarah Bond in a post on X. “Our mission is to allow more players to play on more devices so we are thrilled to share that starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android.”



Google’s Android app store is an illegal monopoly, and the search giant has been ordered to open up the Play Store to competition for three years. This means no longer forcing developers to use its own Google Play Billing after a jury found that Google had illegally tied its payment system to its app store. Google will also have to distribute rival third-party app stores within Google Play.

Xbox store purchase support directly in the mobile Android app will allow Microsoft to sell Xbox games freely on Android devices, and integrated Xbox Cloud Gaming features mean people will be able to immediately stream games to their handsets after purchasing them.

It’s not immediately clear why Microsoft can’t already provide Xbox game purchases inside its Android mobile app, though. You can buy games from Steam or the PlayStation Store on mobile devices, so Microsoft has long been the exception here. I asked Microsoft for more details on the store changes, but the company says Bond’s statement is all it has to share right now.

Separately, Microsoft is also working on a browser-based Xbox mobile store that it was originally planning to launch in July. The store will eventually focus on first-party mobile games from Microsoft’s various studios, but initially it will feature deals and in-game items. Microsoft said in August that testing had begun on the web-based mobile store and “work is progressing well and we will have more to share in the future.”

Xbox will sell games directly in the Android app next month

Microsoft is taking advantage of a US court ruling.

www.theverge.com

---

I was trying to figure out the highlight part as well. What has prevented Microsoft from doing this?

Like I need another reason to hate google.

 

[M1chl]

So wait, is this about just their console games (or well... Windows Store) or can you buy shit for CoD Mobile, etc?

 

[tusharngf]

Epic did it

 

[srerwws]

Microsoft is taking advantage of a US court ruling that forces Google to crack open Android for third-party stores.

---

Microsoft is planning to update its Xbox mobile app on Android to allow US users to purchase and then play Xbox games on their mobile devices next month. Following a US court ruling earlier this week that forces Google to stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps in the Play Store on November 1st, Microsoft is ready to take advantage of the changes.

“The court’s ruling to open up Google’s mobile store in the US will allow more choice and flexibility,” says Xbox president Sarah Bond in a post on X. “Our mission is to allow more players to play on more devices so we are thrilled to share that starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android.”



Google’s Android app store is an illegal monopoly, and the search giant has been ordered to open up the Play Store to competition for three years. This means no longer forcing developers to use its own Google Play Billing after a jury found that Google had illegally tied its payment system to its app store. Google will also have to distribute rival third-party app stores within Google Play.

Xbox store purchase support directly in the mobile Android app will allow Microsoft to sell Xbox games freely on Android devices, and integrated Xbox Cloud Gaming features mean people will be able to immediately stream games to their handsets after purchasing them.

It’s not immediately clear why Microsoft can’t already provide Xbox game purchases inside its Android mobile app, though. You can buy games from Steam or the PlayStation Store on mobile devices, so Microsoft has long been the exception here. I asked Microsoft for more details on the store changes, but the company says Bond’s statement is all it has to share right now.

Separately, Microsoft is also working on a browser-based Xbox mobile store that it was originally planning to launch in July. The store will eventually focus on first-party mobile games from Microsoft’s various studios, but initially it will feature deals and in-game items. Microsoft said in August that testing had begun on the web-based mobile store and “work or Tips for Android is progressing well and we will have more to share in the future.”

---

I was trying to figure out the highlight part as well. What has prevented Microsoft from doing this?

check out the epic game or check out the latest Winlator gameplay videos on YouTube! While Steam isn’t working at the moment, you can still enjoy running GoG games.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Like how we can buy games through Playstation App?

Or is this something entirely different?