Microsoft Looking to Build Xbox Mobile Store with the Help of Some Partners, Phil Spencer Confirms

wccftech.com:

During the 2023 Comic Con Experience (November 30 - December 3) in São Paulo, Brazil, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer spoke with Bloomberg's Rachel Gamarski to confirm the company's strategy to build an Xbox mobile store with the help of like-minded partners.

It’s an important part of our strategy and something we are actively working on today not only alone, but talking to other partners who’d also like to see more choice for how they can monetize on the phone. We’ve talked about choice, and today on your mobile phones, you don’t have choice. To make sure that Xbox is not only relevant today but for the next 10, 20 years, we’re going to have to be strong across many screens.

It's not hard to imagine at least one of those partners. Epic Games has been at the forefront of the battle against Apple and Google to get iOS and Android open to games and app developers without necessarily having to go through the official stores and the massive 30% cut they require. They've waged very expensive lawsuits against both tech giants to achieve that goal. Microsoft has publicly supported Epic Games ever since Tim Sweeney started his fight with Apple, and it would come as no surprise to learn they've been working together to build an alternative store. After all, the Epic Games Founder and CEO buried his hatchet with Microsoft a long time ago.

In the Bloomberg interview, Phil Spencer also hinted the mobile store could happen sooner rather than later:

I don’t think this is multiple years away; I think this is sooner than that.

Indeed, this lines up with a recent comment from The Verge journalist Tom Warren that Microsoft could launch their store as soon as next year. A lot hinges on the Digital Markets Act, as Phil Spencer himself said