Microsoft may launch dedicated iPhone app store for Xbox cloud gaming in 2024

Once new EU regulations come into effect in March 2024, Microsoft will have a legal basis to launch a new iPhone app store dedicated to Xbox games.

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• What’s happening? Windplanss plans to bring Xbox games to Apple devices through its own app store as soon as EU regulations go into effect.
• Why care? The Microsoft Store could be the first non-Apple app store on your iPhone, making it easier to play Xbox cloud games on Apple hardware.
• What to do? Learn how Xbox cloud gaming works on iOS by signing into your Microsoft account with Safari on your Apple device at Xbox.com/play.

Microsoft App Store for iPhone for Xbox Coming in 2024

The Financial Times reports that Microsoft is gearing up to launch a new iPhone designed for Xbox cloud gaming as early as next year, provided its problematic $75 billion acquisition of Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard gets regulatory approval. The store will also launch on Android devices.

Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer told the financial paper that his company wants to offer Xbox games on any screen anyone wants to play.

“Today, we can’t do it on mobile devices, but we want to build the world we think will come where these devices are open,” he said, hinting at changes coming to the App Store in 2024.

“The upcoming Digital Markets Act is what we are planning,” he said. “I think this is a huge opportunity.”

Alternative app stores on iPhone

Apple currently requires any company that offers cloud gaming for its hardware to list every single game on the App Store. In other words, individual games cannot be purchased from the store in native apps.

According to the rules, cloud gaming services that host games are prohibited on the iOS and iPadOS platforms. Microsoft got around Apple’s demands by bringing Xbox cloud gaming to the Safari browser. However, this is a clumsy solution compared to the dedicated app store for Xbox games, resulting in performance degradation.

But how is this possible?

Microsoft, Nvidia, Steam, and other game publishers have tried and failed to satisfactorily port their gaming services to Apple hardware due to Apple’s heavy regulation of App Store submissions. This will change in March 2014 when the European Union Digital Markets Act comes into force.

The EU ruling will force Apple to allow alternative app stores and software downloads on devices sold in the European Union, with the expectation that lawmakers in the United States will pass a similar law soon.