Xbox Delays Major New Features For Android, Google Responds In Frustration

It was back in the early part of October that Xbox’s Sarah Bond announced a plan to bring major new features to the Xbox app on Android devices – specifically the ability to “play and purchase” games directly from it.

That’s still the plan, and it was supposed to happen this month, but a “temporary administrative stay” has apparently left Xbox unable to release these features. Google has recently been subject to a court process where its Google Play Store has been forced to make various changes, but the company is trying to appeal the ruling as things stand.

Here’s what Sarah Bond had to say about the delay to these Xbox app features:

“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. 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. 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.”

Google has issued a statement in response to Microsoft today, and it’s a frustrated one. The company claims that Xbox has always been able to offer these planned features via the Xbox app, and that Microsoft is “ignoring security concerns” that are related to the court ruling and the “rush to force its implementation”.

Here’s a look at the statement courtesy of The Verge:

“Microsoft has always been able to offer their Android users the ability to play and purchase Xbox games directly from their app – they’ve simply chosen not to. The Court’s order, and rush to force its implementation, threaten Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and secure experience. Microsoft, like Epic, are ignoring these very real security concerns. We remain focused on supporting an ecosystem that works for everyone, not just two of the largest game companies.”

The TL;DR here is that we’re (seemingly) not getting the ability to “play and purchase” Xbox games directly from the Xbox app until Google’s court appeal is sorted out, which could be well into next year if things keep dragging on.

As far as we know, Microsoft has never specifically explained why the Xbox app doesn’t support a mobile store-like feature at present, but speculation suggests it’s related to the desire to avoid paying a hefty cut to Google.

Again, here’s The Verge’s Tom Warren weighing in on this:

What are your thoughts on this whole situation? Let us know down in the comments section below.