More and more companies are coming up with services that allow games to be streamed instead of downloaded locally on the device. With such a cloud set-up, companies can adopt an “all you can eat” concept for games, just like video is now being done with services like Netflix. Google (with Google Stadia) and Microsoft (with Xbox cloud gaming via Game Pass), among others, each have their own service. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says Apple was also considering such a service, in addition to the existing Apple Arcade service.
‘Apple was considering its own cloud gaming service’
“Apple has internally discussed the possibilities of such a cloud service in the past,” Gurman said in his latest newsletter when asked by a reader. It is noteworthy that Apple has considered this idea for several reasons. Under current rules, cloud services for games are not allowed in the App Store.
Companies such as Microsoft and Google therefore have to deal with quite a few limitations. Their cloud service cannot be downloaded via the App Store, but can only be played via the browser (Safari). According to the rules of the App Store, each game must be viewed separately by the App Store review team, which means that each game must be submitted separately and have its own App Store page. That is unworkable for companies such as Microsoft and Google, because it goes against the whole idea of a cloud service. After all, Netflix does not have to have every film or series reviewed by Apple.
It's not clear exactly why Apple abandoned the idea, but it may have to do with its own rules. After all, if Apple were to set up such a service, it would also open doors for other companies. Apple does have its own Apple Arcade service, but each game has to be downloaded separately. You do pay a fixed price per month, but you are limited in your storage and therefore which games you can play at the same time.
Earlier last summer, we asked you if you still pay for Apple Arcade. There are now more than 200 games on the service, including more and more classics.