At first glance, Apple seems to be reaching out to cloud gaming operators.
These services that allow you to play video games without having to download them on your smartphone, such as Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud or French Blacknut, were until then banned from the AppStore, the application store for iPhone and iPad .
This ban was lifted on Friday.
But the devil is in the details.
If Apple does indeed open its door to these services, the company provides it with binding obligations to say the least.
Thus, Apple wants to approve one by one the hundreds of video games that make up the catalog of these services.
Publishers will therefore have to create a “
Page
” on the App Store for each of these video games.
If it were duplicated in the world of video, this rule would amount to forcing Netflix or Amazon Prime Video to submit to Apple for approval all the series and films that make up their catalogs.
This obligation also means that all video games present in cloud gaming services will be subject to the
30%
“
tax
” levied by Apple on all AppStore transactions.
Take the Google Stadia service, where each game must be purchased individually.
Apple would take its fair share of any Stadia game purchase made from an iPhone.
The merits of this "tax" of 30% is at the heart of the showdown between Apple and Epic Games, the creator of the online game Fortnite, for a month.
It is also the subject of an investigation by the European Commission, opened in June.
Microsoft denounces these new rules
Another rule states that any video game “
offered in a subscription cloud gaming service must be downloaded directly from the AppStore.
This contradicts the very principle of cloud gaming, which allows you to instantly play the game of your choice.
Enough to make Microsoft jump, which is launching its xCloud service on its Xbox consoles, PCs and Android smartphones next week.
“
This is going to result in a bad experience for the users.
Gamers want to immediately access their video games from a single app, just like they already do in music or video.
They don't want to be forced to download hundreds of apps to be able to play streaming,
”Microsoft told US site The Verge.
“
Our mission is to provide players with the best possible experience
,” continues the spokesperson.
What to suggest that Microsoft refuses to comply with the new rules of the AppStore.
Facebook also protested against Apple.
For a long time, the brand refused to put its Facebook Gaming application online, which allows you to watch games of video games but also to play mini-games without downloading.
Facebook Gaming was finally able to arrive on the AppStore in August, but redacted from its mini-games.
"
Apple's decisions are hitting the video game industry, players, developers, and paralyzing innovation on smartphones, especially new formats such as cloud gaming,
" said Vivek Sharma, vice president of Facebook in charge at the time. video game.
The social network has not commented on the new rules of the AppStore.
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