Apple Begins Allowing Stadia, xCloud, GeForce Now To Run On iOS Devices

In yet another change to its App Store guidelines, Apple is paving the way for game streaming services to run on iOS devices.

Engadget reports that streaming services such as Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud, and NVIDIA’s GeForce Now will be allowed, but you will have to download each game individually from the App Store.

“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,” the updated rules read (via CNBC).

In another part of the guidelines, Apple said, “Streaming game services may offer a catalog app on the App Store to help users sign up for the service and find the games on the App Store, provided that the app adheres to all guidelines, including offering users the option to pay for a subscription with in-app purchase and use Sign in with Apple.”

“All the games included in the catalog app must link to an individual App Store product page,” the rules also stated.

With its current legal issues against Epic Games, Apple has come under fire over its App Store policies, especially from game publishers. Apple removed Epic Games’ “Fortnite” from the App Store when the latter providing players a direct payment system that removed the 30% fee that Apple collects through App Store purchases.

Epic Games got support from Microsoft and Facebook, who have both stated that the App Store guidelines are limiting their gaming apps on iPhones and iPads. The xCloud and GeForce Now apps aren’t available for iOS devices at all, while you can't play games through the Stadia or Facebook Gaming apps as things stand.

Apple said that it had to limit game streaming services in August because the company would have to review and approve each title individually, something that does not apply to non-interactive streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.

By having each game as an individual app, they will show up in “charts and search, has user ratings and review [and] can be managed with ScreenTime and other parental control apps.”

This new policy, however, kind of defeats the purpose of game streaming in the first place as it requires the downloading of each Stadia or xCloud game (or possibly an app that connects to a cloud server with the full game). Still, at least now, these games are now playable on iOS devices moving forward.