As part of Microsoft’s filings with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding its acquisition of Activision, it’s been revealed that the tech giant plans to open an Xbox mobile store.
The filings, as spotted by The Verge, discuss this Xbox mobile store that was somewhat hinted at earlier this year. Xbox head Phil Spencer noted earlier this year that the main motivation behind the acquisition was actually the mobile and PC potential, so a dedicated mobile store front makes a lot of sense.
In the filings, Microsoft wrote, “The transaction will improve Microsoft’s ability to create a next generation game store which operates across a range of devices, including mobile as a result of the addition of Activision Blizzard’s content.
“Building on Activision Blizzard’s existing communities of gamers, Xbox will seek to scale the Xbox Store to mobile, attracting gamers to a new Xbox Mobile Platform. Shifting consumers away from the Google Play Store and App Store on mobile devices will, however, require a major shift in consumer behavior. Microsoft hopes that by offering well-known and popular content, gamers will be more inclined to try something new.”
Considering that Call of Duty Mobile passed the staggeringly large $1.5 billion in lifetime spending thanks to microtransactions, it isn’t surprising as to why Xbox might want to have its own mobile storefront.
Later on in the filings, Microsoft makes it clear that it wants to stake its claim on the mobile market, writing, “The transaction gives Microsoft a meaningful presence in mobile gaming. Mobile gaming revenues from the King division and titles such as Call of Duty: Mobile, as well as ancillary revenue, represented more than half of Activision Blizzard’s… revenues in the first half of 2022. Microsoft currently has no meaningful presence in mobile gaming and the Transaction will bring much needed expertise in mobile game development, marketing and advertising.”
Activision has previously noted that it plans to bring all of its franchises to mobile, following the success it had and continues to have with titles like Call of Duty: Mobile. Microsoft would also bring King under its belt, the company behind the everlastingly popular Candy Crush.
A big push to mobile isn’t surprising considering that a study from last year found that mobile gaming is more popular than console and PC in the US and Canada, with the study finding that 238.7 million people in the US are “active” mobile gamers.. EA clearly understands the potential of the market, as it spent $2.1 billion to acquire GluMobile, the company behind the Kim Kardashian mobile game because of how large the mobile market is. Take-Two spent $12.7 billion, a ridiculous amount, on acquiring Zynga, who you likely remember as the company behind FarmVille, so it’s clearly that the big hitters of the games industry know where they can make the most money.
Microsoft has been very critical of how the CMA has been handling its investigation of the acquisition, as the UK competition watchdog has expressed concerns over how Sony might be affected. In response, Xbox noted that Sony has “significantly [exaggerated] the importance of Call of Duty to it and neglect to account for Sony’s clear ability to competitively respond.”
In September, Microsoft’s CEO did note that he’s confident the deal will happen though, pointing out how PlayStation is currently bigger than Xbox.
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