Xbox in talks with partners to launch a mobile gaming store
Microsoft’s gaming division is seeking continued growth, and to do that, it is eyeing the mobile gaming market. As Bloomberg reports, Xbox is talking with partners to create a mobile gaming store.
In an interview in Sao Paulo during the CCXP comics and entertainment convention, Xbox’s Phil Spencer highlights how mobile gaming is part of his team’s strategy. Hence, they’re “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.”
This is not a new idea from Xbox. Spencer reveals that one of the motivations for the lengthy and pricey acquisition of Activision Blizzard King was the company’s strong mobile gaming market presence through hits such as Candy Crush and Call of Duty Mobile.
As Xbox has made clear numerous times, it is not purely focused on hardware sales, and it also hopes to maximize the reach of its subscription services. To do this, Microsoft expanded Game Pass to 11 new Latin American countries, and this has led to an increase in customers.
According to Spencer, Peru and Costa Rica account for almost half the new sign-ups. He also highlights how important Brazil’s gaming market is, as it is the second-biggest market for PC Game Pass globally, and he argues that “in many ways Brazil leads a lot of the trends that we see globally.”
Microsoft certainly has a lot of weight to swing around but it won’t be entering an empty market, as big players such as Apple and Alphabet Inc already exist in that sphere. No date is given for when the mobile store will launch, but Spencer is certain that it isn’t many years away.
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