iPhone owners using Google Stadia or an Xbox are getting disappointing news. Google Stadia and xCloud are available to stream on Android devices, but Apple has officially revealed in an interview with Business Insider that it won't be allowing either app on the App Store.
A lot of Xbox gamers are very excited about Microsoft's recent announcement that Game Pass subscribers can access xCloud next month with its huge library of games. However, Microsoft only confirmed xCloud's availability for Android users, leaving iPhone users in the dark. A Microsoft spokesperson announced the company's intention to focus on Android at the moment but to eventually include "all devices." For the moment, though, Apple says no.
An Apple spokesperson provided the reasoning behind Apple's ban in the interview, saying Apple was concerned about not being able to review every game Game Pass offers. The spokesperson referred to the App Store as "a safe and trusted place" and that all apps hoping to go on the store must pass a set of "fair and level guidelines." But Steam Link and PS4 Remote Play were made available on the App Store last year, so there is precedent for Apple allowing this kind of app on its store.
The Apple spokesperson stressed the need for developers to individually submit games for review, and there's no guarantee that Xbox and Google would be willing or able to do this with every game linked through their services. Apple is serious it is about enforcing App Store regulations, as it demonstrated when it removed almost 30,000 Chinese apps from the service. xCloud will offer a library of over a hundred games, and reviewing each would no doubt be a lengthy process.
Some critics point out that other streaming services like Netflix and Spotify are allowed to exist on the App Store without every product they stream being set up for review, so why are gaming services held to a different standard? One major reason for this rule is likely the hefty 30% fee the App Store takes out of each purchase, which has recently come under a significant amount of fire. If game developers choose to port their games to iOS individually, Apple can take a cut out of each purchase, as opposed to only imposing fees on the xCloud and Stadia apps.
Regardless of the current roadblock, eventually putting xCloud on Apple phones is still on Xbox's radar. Google hasn't announced its plan with Stadia on iOS yet, but it may be planning something similar.
Source: Business Insider