Gamers can buy their Xbox games on Android next month

If you wanted to buy a game for your Xbox console, you’d have to either buy a physical copy or buy a digital copy, usually through Microsoft’s own storefront on the console or on the web. But starting next month, Xbox gamers will have another option, and that is through the Xbox app on Android phones.

If you’re wondering why this wasn’t possible before, it is because of a US judge ruling earlier this week which basically said that Google would need to present alternatives to its Play Store on Android devices. Microsoft plans on taking advantage of the ruling by giving Xbox users an alternative means of buying games.

This was announced by Microsoft’s President of Xbox gaming business, Sarah Bond, who made a post on X about it. One of the reasons why Microsoft held back on allowing gamers to buy games through the Xbox app was due to the cut that they would have to give Google. Companies like Google and Apple take a cut from app sales as well as in-app purchases.

This amount can vary, but ultimately it can represent quite a substantial amount of money. Prior to this, Xbox gamers could download their games to their consoles through the app on their phones, but could not actually purchase it. At the very least this gives users alternative options that they can explore. It also gives users a way to enjoy Xbox Cloud Gaming even while on the go.