Facebook releases Gaming app on iOS without games due to Apple rules

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Facebook has released its Gaming app for iOS. In addition, the built-in mini games are missing. The social network lashes out at Apple, which allegedly declined the app several times because of those games.

The omission of the games in Facebook Gaming was the only way the company could get the game in the App Store, Facebook said in a statement to various media outlets. Facebook Gaming has been in the App Store since Friday, after the Android app was released in April. Facebook Gaming allows users to watch mobile game streams and even stream live games themselves. In the Android app there are also a number of mini games in the app, such as sports games.

According to Facebook, the latter are the reason that the app has only now appeared in the App Store. “Unfortunately, we had to completely remove gameplay functionality to get Apple’s permission,” the company writes. Apple is said to have rejected the app several times in recent months. Apple would refer to the guidelines of the App Store, and state that games were the primary content of Facebook Gaming. Facebook, in turn, says that on Android, 85 percent of users only watch streams.

Facebook is following other tech companies with the criticism. Earlier, Microsoft also said it had problems with the App Store. Apple’s rules would prevent Microsoft from releasing games for the streaming service on the platform. Recently, Apple has also received a lot of public criticism in other areas. For example, a yoga app was declined because auto-renew was off after a trial period, and Hey email service was declined several times because the in-app purchase button was missing.

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