Apple has announced changes to the list of App Store rules. Now streaming services like Microsoft xCloud, Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now can formally appear in the store. However, there were some pitfalls.
There are four edits concerning streaming services.
Here is the key:
4.9.2: A streaming game service may have its own app with a catalog of games in the App Store so that users who register in the service can find these games in the App Store. However, such applications with catalogs can be in the App Store only if they provide users with the opportunity to pay for a subscription via IAP and support Sign in with Apple. All games included in the catalog must lead to their pages in the App Store when clicked.
The aspect with the game pages is dealt with in detail in another edit:
4.9.1: Each game of the service must be registered on the App Store as a separate project. This is necessary in order for her to have her own page, which would be fixed in the charts and in the search, as well as have a rating and the opportunity to leave a review.
Separately, Apple notes exactly how streaming services should work on it:
3.1.2 (a): Those games that are offered by the streaming service as part of a subscription must be downloaded directly from the App Store (…) they should not disadvantage users who are not subscribers.
Since all games from the library of services must be downloaded from the store, the rules apply to them the same as for other App Store applications:
4.9: Only those streaming games that follow the rules are allowed. For example, each update of a particular game should be submitted for review, developers should provide each title with metadata for search, the sale of any content should be made only through the Apple payment system.
At the moment, the changes made raise many questions.
It is unclear, for example, what Apple means when it says that games will need to be downloaded; how games can disadvantage those who are not subscribers; should game pages allow downloading a full version of the game without a subscription, but already for iOS?
Anyway, this decision can be called a conditional victory in the confrontation between Microsoft and Apple. Recall that the “Apple” company in early August said that cloud services violate the rules of the App Store. After that, Microsoft supported Epic Games in court against Apple.
However, Microsoft itself is not thrilled with the innovations:
“It will be inconvenient for users. Players want to go directly to the game from their catalog within a single application (…), and not forcibly download more than 100 applications to play some of them directly from the cloud.”
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