Xbox will soon let players buy games directly in its Android app following Google antitrust ruling | TechCrunch

Xbox President Sarah Bond announced that players will soon be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android.

The announcement comes as a U.S. judge ordered Google to stop forcing developers to use Google Play’s billing system on Monday. The ruling forces Google to open up its app store to rivals and give Android users more choice.

“The court’s ruling to open up Google´s mobile store in the US will allow more choice and flexibility,” Bond said in a post on X. “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.”

Microsoft will now be able to sell games to players on Android without being forced to give Google a cut of revenue from in-app purchases.

Bond did not share any extra details or information about which games will be available via the Xbox app, but TechCrunch reached out to Microsoft to learn more.

Separately, Microsoft has been working to launch its own mobile game store. Although Bond announced back in May that the store would launch in July, that never happened, and the company is still in the testing phase. The company’s plan for the web-based store is to bring its first-party portfolio, which includes titles like Candy Crush and Minecraft, and then open up the mobile store to other publishers. 

Judge James Donato issued his final ruling in the Epic and Google saga on Monday, detailing a number of ways that the company has to change the way it operates Google Play starting November 1 for a period of three years.

As part of the ruling, Google is also not allowed to pay developers to launch their apps exclusively on its app store. It must also permit third-party app stores to access Google Play’s catalog of apps and must carry third-party apps in its app store. 

In response to the ruling, Google said it will file an appeal and ask the courts to pause the ordered changes, arguing that the changes would “undercut Android’s ability to compete with Apple’s iOS.”