With a court ruling going against Google, allowing other companies to distribute their apps via an App Store present within the Google Play Store, there must be a load of brands who would’ve been looking to grab this opportunity. One of them is Xbox, and it has now been confirmed that the Xbox app on Android will soon get support for Xbox games.
Sarah Bond, President of Xbox, announced on X that the Xbox app on Android will be updated with support for buying and playing Xbox games directly in the app beginning November. “The court’s ruling to open up Google´s mobile store in the US will allow more choice and flexibility. Our mission is to allow more players to play on more devices so we are thrilled to share that starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android,” she wrote.
Bond is referring to the recent court ruling where Google is now required to allow rival third-party app stores access to its full catalog of Google Play apps, unless developers specifically choose to opt out. This policy means that unless developers actively decide not to participate, their apps will be made available on other app stores beyond Google Play. The jury’s decision applies to Google for three years, starting November 1st, 2024, and ending November 1st, 2027.
Earlier in May, Bond made a similar announcement where it said that Xbox will be launching a new Xbox Mobile Gaming Store for Android on web in July, similar to Epic’s Game store. However, an actual launch never happened.
With the latest development, it seems like Xbox will allow players on Android to access the full catalog of Xbox games to purchase and play via cloud gaming, not natively on the device itself. We’ll know more about Xbox’s intentions once the Xbox app on Android begins distributing Xbox games later next month.