Phil Spencer said in March 2024 that he could imagine third-party game stores such as the Epic Games Store and itch.io coming to Xbox consoles. He was describing a possibility, not announcing a launch: the Microsoft policy page reviewed here does not establish that either store is currently available on Xbox.
What did Phil Spencer say about other stores on Xbox?
In a Polygon interview reported by Video Games Chronicle on March 27, 2024, Spencer was asked whether he could see third-party storefronts such as the Epic Games Store or itch.io on Xbox. He said he could. GameSpot’s report that day likewise describes him answering yes when asked about a future in which Xbox consoles allowed those stores.
That is an expressed openness to the idea, not confirmation that Microsoft had approved, scheduled, or released it. Spencer’s remarks did not specify a launch date, implementation, or participating storefronts beyond those examples.
Can you use the Epic Games Store or itch.io on Xbox now?
The cited reporting documents Spencer’s 2024 comments, not the arrival of another storefront on Xbox consoles. Microsoft’s Store Policies version 7.20, published September 15, 2026, sets requirements for games and products offered through Xbox and Microsoft stores. It does not announce that the Epic Games Store, itch.io, or another independent storefront is available on Xbox consoles. The policy page therefore does not substantiate a storefront launch.
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Why did Spencer think more storefront choice could matter?
Spencer compared the proposal with PC gaming, where players can choose where to buy games. As quoted by VGC, he said: “Nobody would blink twice if I said ‘hey, when you’re using a PC, you get to decide the type of experience you have [by picking where to buy games]’. There’s real value in that.”
He argued that letting players choose stores could reduce friction for players and creators and create more competition over prices. These were Spencer’s projected benefits, not measured outcomes in the reports. He also said that console hardware subsidies were becoming harder to sustain as component costs fell less quickly and growth in the console market slowed. VGC quoted him: “[Subsidising hardware] becomes more challenging in today’s world,” followed by, “And I will say, and this may seem too altruistic, I don’t know that it’s growing the industry.” Neither contemporaneous report supplied numerical evidence for those market assessments.
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How would an open storefront model differ from the traditional console model?
| Question | Traditional console model | More storefront choice, as Spencer described it |
|---|---|---|
| Where can players buy games? | Players buy through the console maker’s store. | Players could choose among stores, as they do on PC. |
| What might choice change? | Purchases remain within the console store environment. | Spencer said competing stores could offer more choice and potentially more competitive pricing; the reports do not measure those effects. |
| How does hardware fit? | The console maker traditionally uses hardware subsidies as part of its model, according to Spencer. | Spencer connected broader store choice to the difficulty of sustaining hardware subsidies, but did not describe a replacement business model. |
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