For the past couple of years, Microsoft has been consideringlaunching an Xbox mobile gaming store, and the company’s plans are finally turninginto reality. Microsoft first hinted at a “next-generation store” back in 2022.It was now revealed at the Bloomberg Technology Summit today that the Xboxmobile gaming store is set to be launched in July of this year.

Microsoft’s main intent behind creating the Xbox mobilestore was to provide a combined gaming and store experience that is independentof a single ecosystem. The company argues that no other gaming platform andstore experience has yet been able to achieve that.

Speaking about the launch, Xbox president Sarah Bond mentionedthat Microsoft is going to begin by bringing its own first-party portfolio to theXbox mobile store. To offer a more accessible experience beyond the policies of“closed ecosystem stores”, Bond added, the company will begin by offering the experienceon web.

Microsoft’s first-party mobile game portfolio will includemajor titles like Call of Duty: Mobile, Candy Crush Saga, and Minecraft. Thecompany plans to later expand the portfolio to third-party partners as well.

Keeping the mobile store initially limited to the web,though, may be a challenge for Microsoft, considering that the games in thestore are already available on app stores like Google and Apple’s. Perhaps thisis why Microsoft plans to later extend the store beyond the web, most likely inthe form of a platform that could be a true rival to Google and Apple’s mobileapp stores.