Apple announced new rules a few days ago that will allow developers to bring game streaming apps to the App Store. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, for example, or Nvidia’s GeForce Now. The first offers a large catalog of titles, many of which can be played in streaming on smartphones and other compatible devices, but today on iPhone and iPad it has very limited functions and does not allow streaming of games, but only limited interaction with the Xbox. The second, also very popular, is absent on the App Store. And who knows, other cloud gaming platforms may also arrive, for example those linked to Sony’s PlayStation.
Apple had blocked game streaming services on its devices in 2020, arguing that it could not guarantee the safety of every single game in the catalogs of these services. It was possible to use these platforms on iOS via a web browser, but the user experience was inferior to that of a dedicated app.
“Apple has introduced new options for how apps globally can deliver in-app experiences to users, including game streaming and mini-programs,” reads the post published on the developer site. “Developers can now present a single app with the ability to stream all the games offered in their catalog. Apps will also be able to offer greater discovery opportunities for game streaming, mini-apps, mini-games, chatbots and plugins found within their apps. Additionally, mini-apps, mini-games, chatbots and plug-ins will be able to incorporate Apple’s in-app purchasing system to offer their users paid digital content or services, such as a subscription, for the first time. for a single chatbot”. Thus, both Microsoft’s mobile store, Xbox Games Pass, and Nvidia’s, GeForce Now, could arrive on iPhone and iPad.
The new features will arrive with iOS 17.4 in March and will be valid worldwide, unlike the other changes introduced in the App Store to comply with the new EU rules against anti-competitive practices on mobile.
In addition to game streaming, the biggest new feature of iOS 17.4 is the possibility of installing third-party stores: it is another effect of the changes introduced by Apple to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Acts, which will come into force in March. We have covered the changes and new tariffs in detail elsewhere, here it is worth noting the comment by Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, who bluntly defined them as “rubbish”, followed by others, for example Daniel EK, CEO of Spotify. It was indeed Fortnite, Epic Games’ most famous title, triggered the first and best-known of the legal battles against the App Store walled garden, and it was at Spotify’s instigation that the EU launched the investigation into the App Store . The dispute is still going on in the courts and with regulators, but in the meantime the announcement has just arrived that Fortnite will return to iPhone later this year. It will be possible to download it, at least in Europe, from the Epic Games store, which will also offer other apps and games, including some exclusive titles, and aims to be a more open and advantageous platform for developers and consumers.