MADRID, (Portaltics/EP). – Xbox is working on a mobile game store that will compete directly with Google and Apple, leveraging the capabilities of Activision Blizzard after the acquisition agreement was announced earlier this year.

Microsoft struck a deal in January to buy video game publisher and developer Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion (60.326 million euros), with the intent of including the game’s catalog, which includes franchises such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch or Candy Crush, for your Game Pass subscription.

This agreement is being reviewed by the relevant authorities in various countries. In the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has started a second phase of investigation, during which Microsoft has the opportunity to respond to decisions made at the end of phase one.

In this response, the American company reflected its intention to “create the next generation of game stores”, with the ability to operate between different devices, including mobile phones, and thanks to the combined content of Activision Blizzard.

The publisher currently has a large community of mobile game users, thanks to franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush, whose games can be found on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Microsoft is working to attract this community of players to its new mobile game store, the Xbox Mobile Platform, according to a text presented to CMA. Its main draw is the catalog of popular games, although admitting that moving them from the Google and Apple stores would require “a major shift in consumer behavior.”

Tech companies are realizing the economic potential of this movement. Revenue generated from mobile games “accounted for more than half of Activison Blizzard’s revenue in the first half of 2022.” and mobile users account for about three quarters of its monthly active users.

Microsoft currently does not have a significant presence in mobile gaming and the transaction will bring much needed expertise in mobile game development, marketing and advertising.