Microsoft’s web-based mobile game store opens in July

In a few months, you’ll be able to get Microsoft’s mobile games from their own store. Xbox president Sarah Bond has revealed at the Bloomberg Technology Summit that the company is launching a web-based store where you can download its mobile games and get add-ons or in-app purchases at a discount. Bond said the company decided to launch a browser-based store instead of an app to make it “available to all devices, all countries, no matter what” so you’re not “locked into one ecosystem.”

Microsoft will only host its own games to begin with, which means it will include many titles from Activision Blizzard. If you recall, it scooped up the game developer and publisher in a $70 billion deal that closed last year. Most likely you will find Candy Crush Sagawhich has apparently generated $20 billion in revenue since its launch in 2012, and Call of Duty’s mobile games in the first batch of titles available for download. Bond said this Minecraft it can also be one of the first games you can get.

An Xbox spokesperson said Bloomberg that it is “only the first step in [the company’s] a journey toward building a trusted app store with roots in gaming.” Microsoft plans to open the app store to third-party publishers in the future, though it didn’t share a timeline for that goal.

The company first announced its intention to launch a game store for Android and iOS devices last year, shortly before EU Digital Markets Act rules came into force. To comply with DMA rules, Apple and Google must allow third-party app stores to be available on their platforms and offer alternative billing systems for purchases. They’re also being forced to allow side-loading apps, which will be a huge change for Apple, a company known for its “walled garden” approach to business.

Third-party app store operators will be able to avoid some of the fees that Google and Apple charge, but will still have to pay the companies to bypass the official stores on their mobile platforms. Both tech giants have already outlined how they are changing things to comply with the DMA regulations. But the companies’ rivals found the changes they were making insufficient, prompting the European Commission to launch an investigation into their compliance plans.