According to internal documents filed in the ongoing Epic Games vs Apple case, Microsoft has plans to reduce its cut on digital downloads on the Xbox console store from 30% to 12%.
Found in court documents, first spotted by The Verge, Microsoft shares various information and data about its digital storefronts on Windows 10 and Xbox.
In a section covering revenue shares, Microsoft lists the Windows Store cut changing from 30% to 12% sometime in 2021. This news was just announced last week by Microsoft. In that same section, Microsoft similarly says it plans to reduce its store cut on Xbox by the same amount also some time in 2021.
This reduction on console games hasn’t happened yet. These docs suggest Microsoft is (or was) planning to reduce the Xbox store cut this year. It’s also possible those plans have changed or been postponed.
In a statement sent to The Verge, Microsoft downplayed the proposed plans found in the court docs, telling the site it has “…no plans to change the revenue share for console games at this time.”
If this change does happen, it would be a big deal. Currently, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony all take a 30% cut from digital game sales on their respective console stores.
Also found in those same documents are more details about the recently announced Windows Store cut reduction. It seems that in exchange for the lower cut on digital sales, Microsoft would get exclusive streaming rights to the game. The Verge reports that Micorosoft refused to comment about this part of the document so it’s unknown if this streaming clause is still hanging around.
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