Microsoft is moving in the right direction as far as developing its gaming ecosystem is concerned by proclaiming that it will soon be selling Xbox games via its mobile app on Android. This daring step is part of the bigger picture of the technology company’s plan to diversify and penetrate the mobile gaming market owing to its vast Xbox gaming catalogue. As such, and with the potential to compete with Google Play and Apple App Store, this reveals Microsoft’s desire to unify and separate the gamer experience across devices.
A Fresh Beginning for Xbox and Mobile Gaming
The move to allow the purchase of Xbox games through a dedicated Android mobile application can be seen as a result of Microsoft’s thrust into gaming as a key business unit. Aiming to be more than just a video game console and PC video game publisher, Microsoft sets to penetrate the ever-increasing mobile gaming market. Mobile gaming is already a billion-dollar industry, with many game players using their mobile phones. This change offers a huge potential for Microsoft in addition to monetizing its Xbox titles, having an expansive gaming population.
Releasing a separate application store means Microsoft will not rely on third parties. Thus, the company can avoid the expenses and limitations related to distributing its products via Google Play. The app will offer an opportunity to view, buy, and play Xbox games on Android devices allowing gamers who do not want to be restricted to one platform app to switch easily to Android devices.
Integration with Xbox Game Pass
One of this strategy’s more prominent features includes the Xbox Game Pass subscription, which has quickly become one of the most popular services within the Microsoft gaming ecosystem. This is because Xbox has more than 25 million subscribers to the Xbox Game Pass, who are allowed to take up huge collections of games that are regularly. In this instance, the availability of the Game Pass within the Microsoft mobile app on Android implies that users can watch full-fledged games with high graphics from their mobile phones or tablets due to the capabilities of cloud gaming.
Using Microsoft xCloud technology, cloud gaming will allow gamers to play Xbox games without having to invest in expensive hardware. This is perhaps one of the major factors that enables the game to develop new users all around the world and also gives Microsoft a strategic edge to lead the next generation of gaming, in which mobile and cloud aspects are of bigger importance.
Rivaling with Google and Apple
Microsoft’s decision to use its application for the direct sale of games is hoping to cut off the competition presented by Google and Apple, which monopolizes the market for downloadable applications. This also suggests that Microsoft can create a distribution network independent from these platforms and avoid paying the customs reforms cuts of usually 30 per cent of sales. It has long been anticipated that the Epic Games vs Apple lawsuit would escalate tensions between developers and app stores concerning the share of the revenues from the sales of apps, and Microsoft seeks to convince other companies to offer app developers a different way out.
Also, considering Microsoft’s intentions to penetrate mobile gaming, it is apparent why it bid for giant game publishers like Activision Blizzard to expand and consolidate its investments in the gaming market. Creating in-house sales channels and acquiring top franchises will allow Microsoft to compete effectively in the mobile gaming segment by offering franchises, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Candy Crush, without recruiting retail outlets.
What This Means for Gamers
From gamers’ perspective, every game by Microsoft through the Android mobile app will encompass more options and possibly decrease in prices. Since in-house applications have a leverage to avoid paying a cut of the app store fees, imputed fees may be saved and eventually passed to the end users. Additionally, playing games with console-level graphics on a handheld device will interest casual audiences as well as hardcore Xbox fans through Game Pass and cloud streaming.
Conclusion
The fact that Microsoft has incorporated features that would allow selling its Xbox Games app via the Android mobile application demonstrates another astonishing dimension of Microsoft’s desire to become a key player in mobile gaming. It is now clear that as the gaming world changes, particularly with the increase of mobile games, Microsoft will be able to grow and become successful in all areas. Microsoft is preparing the foundation for a world where players will have near-unlimited access to video games, depending on a catalogue of games and cloud gaming, without the hassles of these apps that have non-distributed regulation. This is beneficial for gamers but simultaneously changes the traditional way how mobile games are distributed to the target audience.