Xbox reportedly aims to disrupt Mobile app market with a dedicated "Xbox Game Store" to rival Apple and Google

Microsoft is planning to release an Xbox Game Store soon that will directly compete against the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. This wasn't officially announced but was revealed in Microsoft's filings with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The company is currently under investigation by the CMA for its ongoing buyout of Activision Blizzard for $68.7bn, which Sony is against. The popularity of Activision's mobile games is a major factor in the company making the buyout to venture further into the mobile gaming industry.

---

Microsoft calls the Xbox Game Store "next-generation" and "built for games"

The Xbox Game Store can possibly have exclusive games (Image via Microsoft)

Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga are two of the biggest mobile games, both published by Activision and King, with Call of Duty: Warzone on its way, which is expected to be a massive hit as well. Microsoft envisions that this buyout will benefit the industry and give the Xbox Game Store a fighting chance.

The transaction will improve Microsoft’s ability to create a next generation game store which operates across a range of devices, including mobile as a result of the addition of Activision Blizzard’s content.

However, making the Xbox Game Store a success will be a hurdle for Microsoft as Apple does not allow third-party app stores on its operating system, so competing on iPhones and iPads will be a stretch. Moreover, the Google Play Store is the biggest mobile store with more than 3.78 million apps, with a large majority being games. Hence, pulling users will not be an easy task.

Shifting consumers away from the Google Play Store and App Store on mobile devices will, however, require a major shift in consumer behavior. Microsoft hopes that by offering well-known and popular content, gamers will be more inclined to try something new.

Since Microsoft has no experience in mobile gaming as of now, completing the buyout of a publisher that owns multiple hit franchises on mobile will give it a huge boost. If Microsoft can remove Activision games from the Google and Apple stores and make them exclusive to the Xbox Game Store, it will automatically bring in millions of users.

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.

Microsoft aims to increase competition in the gaming industry by making this transaction and having solid ground in the mobile gaming market. It will bring in more revenue than the music and film industry combined, and is a step in the right direction. The company will also push for cloud gaming simultaneously to make Xbox gaming bigger and more widely available while collapsing Sony's monotonous reign.