Microsoft Blames Apple for Delayed Xbox Mobile Store Launch

Microsoft is attributing the delay of its Xbox mobile store launch to Apple. According to a report by The Verge, Microsoft even filed an amicus brief backing Epic Games in its legal battle against Apple.

Famous for its Windows software company has filed a detailed argument in favor of the most recent ruling when the court found Apple in willful violation of the court’s 2021 injunction, which ordered the company to stop its anticompetitive practices in the App Store and opened iOS for the Epic Games Store and other platforms.

“The district court’s injunction allows Apple to maintain its in-app exclusivity but at least should have enabled Microsoft to offer consumers a workable solution by launching its own online store — accessible via link-out — for in-app items to be purchased off-app and used in games or other apps. And that is what Microsoft wants to do. But even this solution has been stymied by Apple. Prior to the district court’s most recent order, Microsoft had been unable to implement linked-out payments (or even inform customers that alternative purchase methods exist) because of Apple’s new anti-steering policies that restrict Microsoft’s communication to users and impose an even higher economic cost to Microsoft than before the injunction,” says an excerpt from the filing provided by The Verge.

The Xbox mobile store was announced during a Bloomberg Tech talk with Sarah Bond, President of Xbox in July 2024. The last update came in late November 2024, when Sarah Bond stated that Google was trying to block the Xbox mobile store from launching on Android.

Previously, Microsoft had problems launching its Xbox app on iOS devices because Apple insisted that the App Store Review Guidelines require each game to be submitted individually for review, effectively blocking services like Xbox Cloud Gaming from offering their full libraries through a single native app. Since 2021, Microsoft has offered Xbox Cloud Gaming through a web app on iPhones and iPads. As of May 2025, Microsoft has not fully overcome the problem and the core issue with Apple’s App Store policies still remains.