Microsoft will be rolling out its mobile games from its own store within the next few months as it is officially launching a web-based store. It was announced by Sarah Bond, Xbox President during the Bloomberg Technology Summit. The store will be a one-stop place where users can download its mobile games and also find other add-ons and in-app purchases at a discounted rate.
Bond notes that the company decided to roll out a browser-based store instead of an app to make sure it is "accessible across all devices, all countries, no matter what" so that you don't get "locked to a single ecosystem." Another spokesperson notes this is "just the first step in [the company's] journey to building a trusted app store with its roots in gaming."
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What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Web-based Game Distribution
- The shift to a web-based store for mobile games highlights a trend towards platform-independent game distribution to enhance accessibility and reach.
- Cross-platform Gaming Accessibility
- Ensuring that games are playable across different devices and regions reveals a growing trend in breaking down ecosystem barriers in the gaming industry.
- Integrated In-app Purchase Ecosystems
- The inclusion of a centralized hub for downloading games and in-app purchases indicates a trend towards creating comprehensive and integrated gaming ecosystems.
Sectors Adopting This
- Mobile Gaming
- The mobile gaming industry stands to benefit by adopting web-based, cross-platform strategies to widen their audience and enhance user experience.
- E-commerce
- Integrating game downloads and in-app purchases within a web-based store opens new avenues for the e-commerce industry to offer digital products and services.
- Cloud Computing
- Web-based game stores rely heavily on cloud technology, paving the way for innovations in cloud computing to support extensive and stable gaming services.
