We reported earlier that Apple has offered a solution to the impasse which has kept game streaming services such as Project xCloud and Google Stadia out of the App Store.
Apple has updated its App Store guidelines, saying :
3.1.2(a): Games offered in a streaming game service subscription must be downloaded directly from the App Store, must be designed to avoid duplicate payment by a subscriber, and should not disadvantage non-subscriber customers.
What this means is xCloud could come to iOS, but each game in the catalogue needs to have an individual listing in the app store, so they could be reviewed and approved/disapproved individually by Apple and also reviewed by customers individually.
In addition, Microsoft would have a catalogue app which links out to each game in the collection.
Microsoft is not however impressed by the solution, which would introduce some delay between switching games and leave your phone littered with hundreds of icons for games you tried out.
Microsoft spokesperson gave the following statement to us:
“This remains a bad experience for customers. Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalog within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud. We’re committed to putting gamers at the center of everything we do, and providing a great experience is core to that mission.”
Despite the bluster, the statement does not specifically say if Microsoft will be going along with Apple’s new rules, but the changes made by Apple may have taken much of the wind out of Microsoft’s sails and left the ball in their court.
Do our readers think Microsoft should comply with Apple’s demands and bring xCloud to iOS, despite the usability concerns? Let us know below.