A series of 11 guarantees have been made to the App Shop and equitable treatment of developers, but Microsoft will not apply four significant ones to its Xbox store.
Microsoft has proposed what it refers to as a “political response” to governments’ efforts to regulate Apple and Google’s platforms “approach to app stores with principles
Microsoft believes its 11 principles address its “increasing role and responsibilities” ahead of legislation. ” “following Activision Blizzard’s takeover by Blizzard.
“App store regulations and procedures on mobile devices limit what and how producers may provide games and what and how gamers can play them,” claims Microsoft in a blog post.
“Our significant investment in acquiring Activision Blizzard further underscores our determination to eliminate this friction on behalf of artists and gamers alike,” the statement reads. “We want to make it easier for gamers throughout the globe to access world-class content.”
Open app marketplaces and open app stores go hand in hand, as Microsoft explains. “The principles we’re establishing today reflect our dedication to this aim.”
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Open App Store Principles
What Microsoft calls its Open App Store Principles, are 11 pledges that fall into four categories:
All developers may access the store and security and privacy tools are among the guarantees in these areas. By inference, Microsoft intends to sidestep Apple’s anti-steering concerns.
Only the first seven of Microsoft’s guarantees will apply to the Xbox shop, according to the company. That implies that Xbox will not be able to gain from any of the Developer Choice awards.
Payment systems are at the heart of many of Apple and Google’s most vehement complaints.
According to Microsoft’s blog, “[Some] may wonder why today’s concepts do not instantly and wholesale apply to the present Xbox console shop.” To understand that new laws is being created to handle app stores on PCs, mobile phones and other general-purpose computing devices is crucial,” he says.
Gaming consoles, for example, aren’t included in the emerging law because of these excellent reasons, the report goes on to say. “A healthy and profitable ecosystem for game developers is established by selling gaming consoles to consumers for less than they cost to manufacture.”
Even the Xbox store will have to be adapted to Microsoft’s commercial model, and the gap will be “closed over time,” Microsoft concludes.