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Apple announced an update to its App Store guidelines yesterday evening. This will allow the provision of services that offer streaming games in the future. But there is a catch - Microsoft is now criticizing it.
Apple has announced an adjustment to the App Store guidelines in several areas. Streaming game services were also taken into account. The idea is well-intentioned, but it will significantly diminish the experience, as Microsoft has determined. According to Apple, apps that offer streaming games will also be allowed to be placed in the App Store in the future. However, the title contained in them must be uploaded separately to the App Store. This would result in a bad experience with xCloud, for example, as Microsoft has now explained. Apple's new guidelines state:
“Each streaming game must be submitted to the App Store as an individual app”
Streaming games are allowed as long as they follow all the guidelines – e.g., every game update must be submitted for review, developers must provide appropriate metadata for discovery, games must use in-app purchasing to unlock features or functionality, etc. Of course, there is always the open internet and web browser apps to reach all users outside of the App Store.
Each streaming game must be submitted to the App Store as an individual app so that it has an App Store product page, appears in charts and search, has user ratings and reviews, can be managed with Screen Time and other parental control applications, appears on the user's device, etc.
But Microsoft – creator of the xCloud platform – believes that this regulation is still too strict to make the experience pleasant for players. To CNET explained Microsoft:
Apple Arcade principle does not appeal to everyone
This remains a poor experience for customers. Gamers want to jump straight into a game from their curated catalog within an 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.
Microsoft added that it is committed to putting gamers at the center of everything it does. Providing a great experience is at the core of that mission. So while Microsoft has already commented on the change, Google and Nvidia - providers of cloud gaming platforms Stadia and GeForce Now - declined to comment to media. It remains to be seen whether iOS users will ever see such a service on their iPhone or iPad. So Apple should go a step further to ensure a proper user experience rather than demanding models with a setup like Apple Arcade. AirPods Pro on special offer at Amazon – available now. (Image: Microsoft)
