- The creation of a holding page indicates that Xbox’s eagerly awaited Mobile Store could be just days away from launch
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The long talked-about Xbox Mobile store just took another step closer to being a reality with the provision of a web page – currently a holding page – on the Xbox.com domain at https://www.xbox.com/en-US/mobilestore
The page even contains a bespoke graphic – showing a gamer making their way up an Escher-inspired maze of stairs through an open door – giving some clues as to the look and feel (or at least theme and aims) of the service to follow.
Previously the company had claimed that the Store would launch “in July”, so with two days to go, Xbox and Microsoft are cutting it fine to make good on their previous promise.
Text on the page reveals that the page – at least in its current incarnation – is intended as a placeholder for those participating in the Xbox Insiders program, i.e. Those who have signed up and expressed interest in further as yet unreleased services. It’s clear that – at least initially – the Mobile Store service will only be available to Insiders while testing takes place.
The presence of the page indicates that this could be sooner than anticipated.
The full text reads:
“Thank you for participating in the Xbox Insiders program. As part of our testing process, you have been placed in a holdback group and currently do not have access to this feature. Your support is invaluable to us, and we ask for your patience as we prepare for the public release. Stay connected with Xbox for further updates.”
Previous Xbox’s Sarah Bond had revealed the company’s intention to create a web-based Xbox-branded mobile store to act as an alternative to those from Apple and Google and that the new marketplace would start on web to ensure it is “accessible across all devices, all countries, no matter what, independent of the policies of closed ecosystem stores”.
The first games offered on the service would be Candy Crush (now under the ownership of Microsoft following the Activision Blizzard King deal) and longstanding Microsoft tentpole gaming brand Minecraft. As yet unannounced third party games will also be on board and devs and publishers while under NDA for the details have confirmed their intention to be part of the offering.
It’s unclear at the present time how this webpage will work alongside the existing Xbox app and exactly which games and services Microsoft and Xbox will be offering via which of their outlets.
We’ll keep you posted.
