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Title: Microsoft blames Apple for Xbox mobile store delays

Date: Wed, 21 May 2025 16:24:13 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/microsoft-b...

According to a report by The Verge, Microsoft says Apple's App Store rules
are to blame for the continued delay of the Xbox mobile app store it
announced last summer. The store would have allowed users to buy Microsoft
mobile games through the Xbox web store on iOS. In an amicus brief filed this
week, Microsoft expressed support for Epic Games in the companiesΓÇÖ long-
running bout against Apple. The company also expressed concern that Apple
could succeed in overturning the injunction that has opened the floodgates
for payments outside of apps that circumvent Apple's 30 percent fee.

Apple filed an appeal against the injunction earlier this month, and just a
few days later it asked the Ninth Circuit to halt enforcement of the original
ruling while it works through its appeal. Microsoft, for its part, is urging
the court to enforce the injunction while the courts handle the appeal. The
company points out that Apple itself has said that the policy changes it made
in response to the injunction "can be undone," raising concern that without
firm enforcement by the courts, Apple could pull the rug at any given moment.

As of this writing, Microsoft's filing is not yet publicly available, but The
Verge has details on the briefΓÇÖs contents. It reads, in part: "The district
courtΓÇÖs 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 ΓÇö accessible via link-out ΓÇö 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."

While things are moving quickly, with apps like Fortnite already returning to
the App Store in the US, Microsoft remains in a holding pattern awaiting a
firm outcome in the case. It seems they want to avoid a situation where the
Xbox mobile store is released, only to be taken down should Apple win on
appeal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/microsoft-blames-apple-for-xbox-mobile-store-delays-
162413207.html?src=rss

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