Today on Threads, Microsoft Xbox Exec. Sarah Bond stated the following:
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.
Some news outlets are assuming this is tied to the upcoming ability for Xbox games to be purchased and streamed from Xcloud. This could be what Sarah meant. And, we’d love it if that was the case. But, we aren’t quite sure.
The “court’s ruling” in question contains many parts, but, at its heart, it is about enabling 3rd party Android app stores – i.e. stores that distribute Android apps (e.g. native apks). So, Sarah’s comment could instead relate to the Xbox app adding the capability to distribute “Xbox” native Android mobile games like Minecraft and titles from King (e.g. Candy Crush which Xbox acquired along with Activision).
Thankfully, November is not far off. So, it won’t take long for exactly what was teased to come to light. And, we are pretty confident at this point that the ability to play games you own outright via Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming regardless.
