Microsoft cuts down its app store commissions to 12%, challenging Apple and Valve

Microsoft recently announced that it would significantly reduce the share of game sales in the Windows store, which shocked the entire PC gaming industry.

On the surface, Microsoft’s latest decision appears to celebrate, since August this year, Microsoft developer commission rates of income to the PC game will be reduced to 12% from the original 30%, rates charged by Epic Games and fairly, It also puts more pressure on Valve-Valve still shares 30% of game sales revenue on Steam.

Secretly, reducing revenue sharing is also a tactical strategy: Microsoft hopes to impose on Apple, this week’s commission rate adjustment will also have an impact on the battle for a larger application store that will open next week.

A few days later, the dispute between Epic Games and Apple will be heard. At the same time, the European Union also found some problems with Apple’s regulations. The European Union accused the company of “taking a dominant position in the distribution market of music streaming applications through its app store”.

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Microsoft has been secretly supporting Epic Game’s struggle with Apple and has called on regulators to investigate Apple’s app store. Whether it is the success of Epic Games or the investigation by regulators, Microsoft’s software business can directly benefit and make a big step into the cloud gaming field.

The founder of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney (Tim Sweeney) has a lot of roots with Microsoft, but until recently the interests of the two companies finally came together. Sweeney once accused Microsoft of trying to use its store and UWP (Universal Windows Platform) program to control the Windows software ecosystem.

Later, Microsoft reduced its attempts in this area, and the more open-source HoloLens model developed by Microsoft seems to have reached a consensus with Sweeney, who is also willing to support Microsoft’s mixed reality headsets.

On the other hand, Apple’s app store is now in lawsuits, and Microsoft has a deep resentment towards Apple’s app store. After Windows Phone lost to iOS and Android, Microsoft has been fighting alone in the face of Apple’s app store for many years. Last year, Microsoft released the latest Windows Store policy, targeting the Apple App Store. There is no doubt that Microsoft will seize every opportunity to make more reasonable rates possible when the time is right.

Microsoft has also tried to release the xCloud game streaming service on iOS. Microsoft certainly hopes to maintain a 30% share of game revenue and in-app transactions on xCloud, but Apple blocked services such as XCloud or Stadia, forcing Microsoft to create a web version to circumvent the restrictions.

Although Microsoft has not filed a formal lawsuit against Apple, the company’s chief legal officer Brad Smith reportedly met with the House Antitrust Subcommittee last year and briefed the committee on the Apple App Store and its fees. problem. At that time, Apple commissioned a study that claimed that 30% of the score became the industry standard.

It’s hard not to think of the PC game rate reduction announced by Microsoft this week. Obviously, this is a timely measure that helps to highlight the gap between the PC and the mobile app store.

Microsoft’s Windows application store is not the company’s main source of revenue. Before the PC game policy was adjusted, the application rate was also adjusted to 15%. Games are the most profitable category in any app store, but currently, most game developers have not chosen to publish games in the Windows store.

If Microsoft wants to use this to force the Apple App Store to make adjustments, the 12% rate makes sense. Such rates will also advance the claims made by Microsoft and Epic Games that PCs and smartphones are general-purpose computing platforms with a fairer app store model.

Next week, the lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple will start the battle for the future of the Apple App Store. Undoubtedly, this battle will be delayed for a long time, and the front has already developed in multiple directions. Microsoft is watching the fire from the sidelines, looking forward to the development of the app store battle in a direction that is beneficial to itself.