Apple Permits Game Streaming on App Store With Strict Caveats
Apple updates its App Store guidelines to permit game streaming services, but requires companies to submit each game as a separate app for individual review.
Apple changes its App Store rules to allow game streaming services like Microsoft xCloud, Google Stadia, and Nvidia GeForce Now. This shift shows that the iPhone maker acknowledges how people increasingly play video games over the internet similar to streaming movies on Netflix.
However, Apple does not simply let game companies publish a single app for their entire catalog. Instead, streaming firms are required to submit a separate app for each individual game on their service, and Apple reviews each one just like the other 1.8 million programs in the App Store.
This unique requirement means that a subscription service offering hundreds of games needs hundreds of distinct apps. Microsoft quickly responds that this new approach is not enough, highlighting the ongoing tension between Apple's strict ecosystem control and the gaming industry's push for streamlined streaming access.