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Microsoft is steadily building its plans to enter the mobile gaming ecosystem with its own mobile app store expected to launch in 2024 as per the latest reports. Xbox chief Phil Spencer was quoted saying that building of the app store is being done to compete with giants like Google and Apple.

Microsoft has been out of the mobile segment ever since it discontinued the Windows Phone platform. Now having an app store for Xbox on mobile makes a lot of business sense. And it is easy to see why the Microsoft deal for Activision Blizzard has a lot riding on it. Xbox can highly benefit from the mobile game titles that come along with the acquisition and Spencer talking up the app store this week suggests the deal could eventually go through.

The biggest challenge facing Microsoft with its app store is how the company can get its app store running on Android or iOS devices. There is a EU bill being tabled that forces iOS to allow third-party app stores to run on iPhones, while Google has been ordered to make changes like these to show it is not violating any antitrust laws in many countries.

The EU has planned for these radical changes under the Digital Markets Act that could mean users have the freedom to download apps and app stores from other companies to their smartphones. “The Digital Markets Act that’s coming — those are the kinds of things that we are planning for, I think it’s a huge opportunity,” Spencer was quoted saying by the Financial Times.

Microsoft is putting all its eggs in the basket with the hope that the Activision deal gets the nod, which is likely to happen in the EU as per reports, but it might struggle for clearance in the home market. Either way, users will be pleased to have more options, and Microsoft could finally increase its presence in the mobile gaming segment.

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