Microsoft will enhance the Xbox Android App to allow Game Downloads and Playtime

Microsoft recently announced new features for its Xbox Android application, including the ability to purchase and download games directly from the app. The functionality is expected to launch in November.

The announcement comes as Google prepares to comply with a legal requirement to allow third-party app stores on its Android operating system.

A U.S. court ruled in September that Google must permit Android users in the U.S. to download apps from outside the Google Play Store, and that ruling will take effect on November 1st.

Assuming it holds up through an appeal from Google, the decision could force changes to the standard app distribution model on Android. Microsoft’s mobile games store, which was initially expected to arrive in July, was delayed and hasn’t yet launched.

Also, Microsoft’s Sarah Bond, the corporate vice president of Xbox Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem, said this week that the company would extend the time mobile gamers can play free-to-play cloud games via Xbox Cloud Gaming without paying.

Currently, players can access a limited selection of games for free for a set period before they’re prompted to sign up for a $14.99/month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. The expanded free-to-play time will be available to Android users in 40 countries starting in October.

In other news, starting this November, the Xbox Game Pass app will no longer be downloadable.