If regulators accept its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft plans to launch its own mobile gaming store for iPhones and Android handsets as early as next year.

Through their own app stores, Apple and Google have long held a monopoly on the distribution of mobile apps, particularly for games. Although Google's Android platform allows consumers to download games and apps from sources other than the Play Store, these alternate app shops have been unable to provide meaningful competition.

Microsoft is currently working to create its own mobile gaming store in an effort to break this duopoly, and the business is relying on forthcoming laws to make that happen.

The EU's Digital Market Act (DMA), which takes effect in March 2024, will help Microsoft achieve its goal of having a mobile app store by enabling businesses to load their app stores on iPhones and Android phones by requesting that Apple and Google open up their systems.

The owner of the Xbox gaming console is battling regulators in the US, Europe, and the UK over the possible effects on competition of buying the company behind one of the most well-known game franchises in the world, Call of Duty.

Moreover, Microsoft has been sued by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent them from acquiring Activision Blizzard, a major video game company.

Additionally, according to reports, Spencer thinks the agreement will boost competition on smartphones, which he refers to as the "biggest platform people play on," where Apple and Google now hold what some antitrust authorities see to as a "duopoly" over the distribution of games and other apps.

"The Digital Markets Act that's coming -- those are the kinds of things that we are planning for. I think it's a huge opportunity," he said.

Apple and Google are anticipated to be named "gatekeepers" under the DMA by the EU, obliging them to alter the regulations controlling app distribution on iPhones and Android devices.

The Big Tech firms might, however, appeal, which would postpone enforcement past the deadline in March.

Ahead of a hearing in the European Union, the IT giant last month agreed to a 10-year deal with the Japanese gaming giant Nintendo to make Xbox games, including Call of Duty (CoD), available to Nintendo players.