New App Store rule provides small opening for xCloud and Stadia games on iOS

Apple has released new App Store guidelines that provide a small opening for game streaming services. It is not possible to release an xCloud or Stadia app, but games can be offered on an individual basis. They must be downloadable.

The changes state that games offered in a streaming subscription service must be downloaded directly from the App Store. These games must also be designed in such a way that a situation where a subscriber pays double is avoided. With the latter, Apple is probably referring to the scenario such as with Fortnite, where a payment system was introduced that went outside the App Store. Furthermore, each game update must be individually offered to Apple before the innovations become available to players. Every streaming game submitted to the App Store must have a separate App Store page, so that user ratings are possible and, for example, the ScreenTime function can be used.

These requirements mean that, for example, Microsoft and Google cannot release an umbrella xCloud or Stadia app for iOS, offering access to all games from those services. What is possible under the new guidelines is that individual games in the App Store are offered on the basis of the streaming technology of the umbrella service, and that, for example, a catalog app is released that collects and links to all individual apps. All games collected herein must then link to their individual App Store page. Furthermore, such a catalog app must offer the option to pay for a subscription via an in-app purchase and the Sign in with Apple option must be present. The other App Store guidelines also apply, which means that the policy that Apple can withhold up to thirty percent of its revenue.

A month ago it became clear that it was due to Apple rules that, for example, Microsoft cannot release an xCloud app for iOS. Microsoft complained about this, claiming that Apple rates game streaming apps differently from other apps and that Apple is the only one that prevents its users from streaming games. A major objection from Apple is that xCloud runs on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles and not locally on the user’s device. In fact, this objection is still leading, as the games from the streaming services still have to be downloaded in accordance with the new guidelines. That requirement alone makes it unlikely that Microsoft or Google, for example, will latch on quickly. The Verge has asked Google for comment, but the company declined.

Apple has also set new guidelines that seem to allow the company to respond to the earlier conflict with the email service Hey. The Cupertino company declined to release temporary updates for the service in the App Store. Hey was developed by the makers of Basecamp, and the Basecamp director complained that Apple’s move was related to the lack of an option for users to make in-app purchases. An App Store reviewer found that Hey provides access to content, subscriptions, or features purchased elsewhere, but those items were not available in the form of in-app purchases from within the app. Hansson thought this was an attempt by Apple to claim fifteen to thirty percent of its revenues. Such a conflict is unlikely to happen again any time soon, as there is a new guideline stating that free standalone apps that serve as an entrance to a paid web tool will no longer need to make use of in-app purchases.