Microsoft is reportedly working on a "Steam of mobile" app store for iOS and Android

With the UK Competition and Markets Authority finally giving its thumbs-up this morning for Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard, we expect the deal to finally close in just a few hours. While most reports have centered on Microsoft getting access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC games, the biggest reason Microsoft wanted the publisher was that it also was the parent company of the mobile game developer and publisher King.

Microsoft execs like its Xbox head Phil Spencer have not hidden the fact that the company sees the real future of gaming is expanding to the mobile device market. Getting access to King's popular games, like the Candy Crush titles, will help, along with other titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal, among others.

Beyond that, Spencer has also stated in previous interviews that Microsoft wants to make a new mobile app store that will offer competition to Apple's iOS app store and the Google Play Store for Android games. In a chat with the UK Times back in February, Spencer stated:

We definitely get support from regulators when we talk about opening up mobile and being a credible third-party alternative on those devices — and we’re a long way from there today.

However, a new report from Windows Central, using unnamed sources, claims Microsoft is indeed working on that mobile game store. Part of the reason is that Apple is rumored to finally allow sideloading for iOS devices in the near future, thanks to the European Union's Digital Markets Act that was approved in 2022. (Google already allows for third-party app stores, like the Samsung Galaxy store on Android devices).

Apple has until March 6, 2024 to start allowing sideloading of apps and app stores on its mobile devices, according to the EU's rules. Windows Central claims Microsoft is getting ready for that day with its mobile game store project. It states:

Microsoft is building the "Steam of mobile," according to my sources, which will offer developers more favorable terms than what Apple currently does on iOS. Much like Epic Games' competing against Steam on the open platform that is Windows 11, Microsoft hopes that by offering developers a better deal, coupled with high-powered exclusives like Minecraft, Diablo Immortal, Warcraft Rumble, and Call of Duty Mobile, it can claw mindshare back from Apple.

It will be interesting to see how this Microsoft mobile game store will be received, especially by iPhone and iPad owners.

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