Microsoft renews store policies after Activision acquisition

Following the acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard at $69 Billion, and ahead of regulatory approval, Microsoft has announced a new set of ‘Open App Store Principles’ pertaining to Microsoft Store on Windows, and to the next generation marketplaces that the software giant will build for games.

Microsoft has made it clear that now and in the future, it is ‘committed to adapting to emerging regulations rather than fighting them’ as governments across the world frame new laws to promote competition in app markets.

The company has stated that it has ‘learned from two decades of adapting to anti-trust rules’ and will ‘innovate successfully’ while protecting fundamental values like privacy, national and cyber security.

The new principles are meant to provide the best possible experience to creators and customers. They are inspired by app store rules being considered in leading countries like the USA, EU, North Korea, and the Netherlands, states MS.

The userbase of the global gaming market is pegged at a staggering 2.8 billion customers. This is expected to rise to 4.5 billion consumers by 2030. Microsoft’s vision is to make its gaming software device-agnostic and enable cloud streaming.

The software giant intends to reduce some of the ‘friction’ caused by restrictions on gamers, creators, content investment, and distribution with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard by providing world-class content and reaching gamers across platforms. With its new set of app store rules, Microsoft seeks to renew its commitment to ‘open app stores’.

Microsoft’s new Open App Store Principles address four specific areas. They enable developers to access the app store while maintaining transparency, safety, security, and quality. Additionally, their aim is to protect and respect customers’ and gamers’ privacy and empower them to manage how their data is used.

MS will not demand developers in its app store to use its payment system to process in-app payments or provide more favorable terms than in other app stores. The company will not disadvantage developers using other payment mechanisms or different terms in other app stores. Nor will MS prevent developers from communicating directly with customers for legitimate business purposes, like pricing terms and service offerings.

MS is also committed to providing information to developers about the interoperability with Windows and enabling them to deliver their app for Windows through its app store, from someone else’s store, or by ‘sideloading’ from the Internet. The company will also allow users to use alternative app stores and third-party apps.

As for the crucial question, will MS continue to make Activision Blizzard’s popular title ‘Call of Duty available on Sony PlayStation' remain that way or make it an Xbox exclusive; the answer is that ‘Call of Duty will not be made Xbox exclusive. For the benefit of PlayStation users, MS will continue to make it available on PlayStation too.

This new set of Open App Store Principles will apply to the entire Xbox console and MS Windows app store, with immediate effect.