- We will hold our own apps to the same standards we hold competing apps. 5. We will not use any non-public information or data from our app store to compete with developers’ apps. Fairness and Transparency 6. We will treat apps equally in our app store without unreasonable preferencing or ranking of our apps or our business partners’ apps over others. 7. We will be transparent about rules for promotion and marketing in our app store and apply these consistently and objectively. Developer Choice8. We will not require developers in our app store to use our payment system to process in-app payments. 9. We will not require developers in our app store to provide more favorable terms in our app store than in other app stores. 10. We will not disadvantage developers if they choose to use a payment processing system other than ours or if they offer different terms and conditions in other app stores. 11. We will not prevent developers from communicating directly with their customers through their apps for legitimate business purposes, such as pricing terms and product or service offerings. Smith said Microsoft plans to continue to let developers choose whether they want their apps to be available through the Microsoft Store, another company’s store, or sideloaded directly from the Internet. And the company will enable Windows users to use alternative app stores and third-party apps, including by changing default settings in appropriate categories," he added. He reiterated that Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on Sony’s PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision and beyond. He said Microsoft wants to take similar steps with Nintendo. Smith noted that Microsoft is adapting its business model so that these principles apply to the store on the Xbox console. Starting today, Principles 1 through 7 will apply to the Xbox console and the others will do so over time. Microsoft officials have projected that if/when the Activision deal gets regulatory approval, it may not do so until mid-2023. Microsoft officials have said that if the deal happens, Microsoft will “only” be the third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Sony and Tencent.
