Apple has finally decided to allow game streaming services on iOS. The news came yesterday with a press release where Apple highlighted that the change came about due to developers’ feedback.
Today, Apple is introducing new options for how apps globally can deliver in-app experiences to users, including streaming games and mini-programs. Developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog.
Previously, Apple made the unattainable request that developers submit a separate app for each game included in the game streaming service, as that would be the only way for Apple to review each of the games. That made it problematic for NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW, Microsoft’s xCloud (now Game Pass Ultimate), and Google’s now-defunct Stadia to get on iOS.
Loopholes were found. For example, GeForce NOW has been available through the Safari browser, and that’s also how Fortnite is playable via cloud on iOS to this day. However, it’s not nearly the same thing as having a native app.
Just a couple of days ago, the United Kingdom regulator (the Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA) announced its decision to resume an investigation into the ‘distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices’. After a preliminary study in 2022, the CMA had expressed concerns that Apple would have an incentive to hold back game streaming services on iOS for at least a couple of valid reasons. For one thing, cloud services could offer an alternative game discovery method to the App Store. Moreover, if streaming games via cloud became extremely popular, it could reduce the importance of purchasing new high-performance mobile hardware to play games.
In somewhat related news, Fortnite is coming back to iOS in Europe this year, as announced a few hours ago by Epic Games, thanks to the Digital Markets Act law passed by the European Union. It will be distributed via the Epic Games Store rather than the App Store.
