Xbox says it’s still blocked from selling and launching games from its Android app, Google says it isn’t

Xbox and Google have seemingly provided conflicting takes on whether Xbox is allowed to sell and launch games from its Android app.

In October, a US judge issued a permanent injunction ordering Google to open its Android marketplace to competitors.

The ruling, which was supposed to come into force this month, means Google will not be allowed to block the distribution of third-party Android app stores through Google Play.

At the time, Bond promised that the ruling would mean that “starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android”.

However, in a new thread posted on Bluesky on Wednesday, Bond claimed that while Xbox is ready to implement these new features, it’s currently blocked from doing so.

Bond says that because Google requested an emergency stay – essentially pausing the ruling to give it time to appeal a ruling that it says “threatens Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and trusted user experience” – Xbox can’t add its promised features until this is lifted.

“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 Bluesky.

“I recently shared our ambition to unlock these features first with the Google Play Store on Android devices in the US 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.”

However, in a statement given to The Verge, Google appears to challenge Bond’s version of events, claiming nothing is stopping Xbox from adding the features it’s promised.

“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,” Google spokesperson Dan Jackson claimed.

“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.”

October’s ruling was the most significant development yet in Epic Games’ long-running antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Before it was appealed, the ruling stated that from November 1 for a three-year period in the US, Google would:

• not be allowed to pay developers to launch apps first or exclusively through the Play Store.
• be barred from offering manufacturers or carriers incentives to pre-install Google Play (or to not pre-install rival stores) on new devices.
• not be able to force app makers to use Google Play Billing.
• not be allowed to require a developer to set a price based on whether Google Play is used.
• not be able to restrict developers from pointing users to external payment options outside of the Play Store.

Xbox has been talking for some time about launching a mobile app store, with head of gaming Phil Spencer stating last year that Microsoft was already preparing for the date at which this could be legally possible.