Microsoft opens app store with games for iPhones and Android phones | Tech

Microsoft’s app store can be visited via a web browser from the summer, Xbox director Sarah Bond told the news agency Bloomberg. The store itself is therefore not an app. According to her, this means that it can be reached via any device and in any country. “Without the rules of closed retail providers,” she adds.

The store will initially only contain games from Microsoft itself, such as Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft. Later, other developers will also be able to offer their games through the Microsoft store.

Although the games are downloaded from the Microsoft store, they can be played on Android phones and iPhones. It is thanks to the European Union that this is possible at all. Due to new rules, Google and Apple must allow more competition and alternatives to their own stores.

First, Google and Apple had almost all the power over the 90 billion dollar (almost 84 billion euro) mobile games market. The companies could ask developers for about 30 percent of sales revenue for offering mobile games and additional game components. This led to dissatisfaction among developers.