Facebook still managed to launch its cloud gaming service on iOS. Due to Apple restrictions, it still cannot be accessed through the App Store. Instead, users will have to run the games in a separate web application.Facebook’s cloud gaming service will run on iOS as a progressive web application (PWA).
Earlier, Microsoft, Amazon and GeForce Now used the same method.
PWA works as follows: the user opens the service’s website in a mobile browser, downloads a web application, after which a separate icon appears on the smartphone desktop. It looks like a regular application, but in fact it is a link leading to the desired service.
For Facebook, launching its service through PWA, in fact, became the only possible solution. Previously, Apple prohibited the release of cloud gaming applications in the App Store, arguing that it was not possible to moderate all third-party games separately.
Last year, the company relaxed the rules, allowing developers to download cloud games as separate applications with the need to submit each game for review. PWA partially solved the problem, but they still cannot be called a panacea. The thing is that users do not see web applications in the App Store and are forced to search and download them on company websites.
The Facebook service allows users of the social network to play mobile and HTML5 games at no extra cost. Developers monetize projects with in-game purchases, and the platform calls for a commission from each transaction.
The launch of the cloud service became known in October last year. In July, Facebook reported that its monthly audience reached 1.5 people. Now the company is working on expanding the library of games. To do this, she, for example, entered into a partnership with Ubisoft and added a number of titles from the French publisher to the service.