Microsoft’s official Xbox app on Android devices and the Google Play Store was scheduled to get some brand new features before the end of 2024, but now it looks like users will likely have to wait until next year before they’re implemented.
Xbox president Sarah Bond has taken to social media to announce that due to an administrative stay granted by U.S. courts, Microsoft has been forced to delay allowing Xbox app users on Android to both purchase and play games through the software. This news comes after Bond previously announced these features would come in November shortly after Google was ordered to open its app store to third-party rivals in early October.
“At Xbox, we want to offer players more choice on how and where they play, including being able to play and buy games directly from the Xbox app,” Bond wrote on X (Twitter). “I recently shared our ambition to unlock these features first with the Google Play Store on Android devices in the U.S. while other app stores adapt to meet consumer demand.”
“Due to a temporary administrative stay recently granted by the courts, we are currently unable to launch these features as planned,” she continued. “Our team has the functionality built and ready to go live as soon as the court makes a final decision. We are eager to launch and give more choice and flexibility to players.”
The delay is a bump in the road for Microsoft’s plan to expand to and integrate mobile gaming into the wider Xbox ecosystem, though given that Bond says the administrative stay is only temporary, it hardly seems like a sizable one. Overall, things appear to be going well for the firm’s venture, with regulatory pressure on Google and Apple’s mobile store duopoly ramping up in recent months and Xbox Cloud Gaming available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as a popular option for streaming games on mobile devices.
Recently, Xbox Cloud Gaming’s “Stream Your Own Game” feature was also implemented, allowing users to stream 50 titles if they’ve purchased them even though they’re not included in the Xbox Game Pass library. More buy-to-own games are sure to be rolled into the service over time, giving players further options.
There’s still a long road ahead for Microsoft and Xbox, though. The company’s long-rumored Xbox handheld is real, but it’s at least “several years out.” Additionally, it’s also chosen to delay the debut of its mobile gaming store as it “does additional research on the market,” with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently commenting on the need for “a way to find the store,” or in other words, something marketable that attracts customers. “If we’re just hoping, like, if we build it, they will come, I’m going to bet that doesn’t work,” he said. Xbox Cloud Gaming is also generally less reliable than NVIDIA GeForce NOW in many scenarios and Xbox Play Anywhere cross-progression isn’t as widespread as it should be, which are no doubt things Microsoft will have to work to address.
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Still, Microsoft and Xbox have a lot of momentum going into 2025, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and the exclusive STALKER 2 both launching very successfully while Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is now just under two weeks away (don’t forget Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed is coming up, too). A steady stream of third-party games have come to the platform this year as well, including some big surprises like Death Stranding — a title that was originally a PlayStation exclusive for several years.
Hopefully big wins like this are followed up with major service improvements and additions as Microsoft looks to bring Xbox games to “as many screens as possible,” but ultimately, only time will tell if they come. Overall, though, I think the company has plenty of opportunities to be incredibly successful moving forward, and the first step in that process is making Xbox games more widely accessible across many different platforms. Hopefully this temporary administrative stay doesn’t last too long.