The Redmond-based tech giant is looking to expand into mobile, but Google doesn’t seem to want the Google Play Store to have a rival…

It’s been over a year since talk of an Xbox mobile store launching sometime in 2024, and then-Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed it shortly after. In July, Microsoft started selling Xbox mobile games on the web, but the plan was to sell directly through the Android app. Xbox president Sarah Bond had previously planned a November launch, but that didn’t happen, and she took to social media to explain why Microsoft hadn’t gotten there:

“At Xbox, we want to give gamers more choices about how and where they play, including the ability to play and buy games directly from the Xbox app. I recently shared our ambition to unlock these features first with the Google Play Store on Android devices in the U.S., while other app stores adapt to meet consumer demand. Due to a temporary administrative stay recently granted by the courts, we are currently unable to launch these features as planned. Our team has the functionality built and ready to go live as soon as the court makes a final decision. We are eager to launch and provide players with more choice and flexibility,” Bond wrote.

Judge James Donato ruled that Android is an illegal monopoly and Google is now trying to block Microsoft. Only the Alphabet subsidiary responded to The Verge: “Microsoft has always had the ability to offer its Android users the ability to play and buy Xbox games directly from its app – they’ve just chosen not to. The court order, and the rush to force its implementation, threatens Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and secure experience. Microsoft, like Epic, is ignoring these very real security concerns. We remain focused on supporting an ecosystem that works for everyone, not just two of the largest game companies.”

Google’s statement is deceitful. Shame on them. They well know that the 30% cut they demand is far more than all of the profit from game streaming. They know this because they blew hundreds of millions of dollars building the failed Stadia game business themselves.

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 28, 2024

Even Tim Sweeney, the founding CEO of Epic Games, weighed in. According to him, Google’s statement is deceptive, and they know that their 30% profit margin is far more than they can make from streaming games. They know this because they spent hundreds of millions of dollars creating the now-defunct Google Stadia service…

And he is right.

Source: WCCFTech, Bsky, The Verge