Apple has extended an olive branch to publishers of game streaming apps like Microsoft xCloud, Google Stadia, and NVIDIA GeForce Now by revising the App Store review guidelines.
You can check them out here.
And the most notable change is that titles from subscription game services can now be offered, albeit with caveats. The company claims that since it will not be able to review the games, they each will have to be offered individually through the App Store.
Game streaming providers can still offer catalog apps, but they will have to link the individual games in the App Store to do so. And in addition to that, they will have to allow users to sign up for the service in the app, meaning Apple gets a 30% cut.
Unsurprisingly.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is not pleased with these changes, which it says offer a bad experience:
“This remains a bad experience for customers. Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalog within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud. We’re committed to putting gamers at the center of everything we do, and providing a great experience is core to that mission.”
Valid concerns, these.
The core experience of game streaming involves having all games in one place, and being able to switch from one title to the other without breaking immersion.
Not to mention, Apple wants it 30% cut, a notion that Microsoft has cited publicly, as pressure against the Cupertino giant mounts. Long story short, Redmond has not taken kindly to this change of heart from Apple.
More is needed.
