Microsoft wants to build its own mobile app store!

The pressure that Apple and Google are under from the EU to open their platforms to third-party app stores and payment systems has been translated into the Digital Markets Act bill that was voted through a few months ago in the European Parliament and will be implemented from March 2024.

Several large and small players in the technology and Internet sector are looking differently at the prospect of entering the "territories" of the two giants, but the most important news comes from Microsoft's side. The latter sees the Digital Markets Act bill as a golden opportunity to make its vision of distributing its apps and games on any device a reality.

As revealed by Xbox chief Phil Spencer, the company is preparing its own mobile app store with the aim of offering Xbox games on Android and iOS devices either through its cloud gaming service or standalone. This cannot be done at this stage due to the restrictions imposed by the App Store and Google Play Store Terms of Service, however, the DMA bill will bend all these barriers.

It is highly likely, therefore, that by 2024 we will have another big player in the market and perhaps that is where the biggest competition for Apple and Google will come from, since to date Amazon hasn't achieved much with its own Android app store.