Microsoft will add game purchases and cloud gaming to the Xbox mobile app. However, the launch is currently being blocked by a court case involving Google
Microsoft plans to integrate several important features into the Xbox App for Android users in the United States. Gamers will be able to purchase games directly within the mobile app, bypassing Google Play, and launch them using streaming.
To clarify: until now, the mobile version of the Xbox cloud service was in beta testing and was only accessible through a browser.
According to Xbox President Sarah Bond, the company was ready to release the updates, but the Epic Games lawsuit against Google forced a temporary delay. "Everything is ready for launch, but due to the court injunction, we cannot yet activate the features," stated the executive on Bluesky.
Let's recall, in October, a U.S. court ruled that Google is a monopolist in the market for Android device applications. Among the key mandates: the corporation was required to open access to competing app stores to the Google Play library and lift the mandate to use only its payment system.
At that time, Google appealed the decision, and the court ruling's enforcement was put on hold. This became the obstacle for Xbox.
Google has already responded to Bond's statement. In a comment to Eurogamer, a company representative noted that Microsoft could have added these features earlier but "simply chose not to."
The corporation is also concerned that hasty compliance with the court's obligations could jeopardize Google Play's security. "Microsoft and Epic are ignoring genuine security issues. We remain focused on supporting an ecosystem that benefits everyone, not just the two largest gaming companies," stated Google.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney also weighed in. He called Google's words "a disgraceful lie," once again pointing out the real reason for the restrictions. Simply put: the Google Play commission of 30% makes streaming gaming unprofitable on mobile devices. "Google knows this well, having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the failed Google Stadia project," Sweeney stated.
It should be noted that these developments for the Xbox app are occurring alongside Microsoft's work on its own mobile game store. It remains unknown when the store will finally launch, with the same reason being ongoing legal battles with Apple and Google in different countries.
