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Apple Updates App Store Review Guidelines to Allow Streaming Game Services That Submit Each Game to the App Store [Updated]
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As I said. Because it simplifies approval of each game, ensure Apple has the opportunity to be paid per game, and is in line with what users expect from their apps. One icon per game. We are slowly fixing this issue on PC, and Apple seems intent on avoiding in on iOS.
Doesn't seem to change anything and is a smoke screen for regulators who are looking into them. For those saying "see, you don't need to sue to get change"... yeah.... apparently you do.
But these aren’t apps. It’s a streaming service. I’m not sure what you mean about being paid per game.
Jason Snell has the best takes.
You may be interacting with other people. Meaning it's an avenue for predatory behavior. It also could involve add-ons and dlc, which is an avenue for predatory behavior. Netflix doesn't have any of this.
Ahe I guessed they did use automated tests, I just assumed the automated tests deep dived the entire code or something. I guess its pretty effective though since you don’t hear about much dodgy crap slipping through onto the App Store vs Google Play.
Apple has never been in a position to detect malware in the apps. They just created an illusion for regular users that they could. How do you think Epic was able to implement (and release) their own payment system on iOS? By inspecting and running the executables (apps), Apple can only identify the most trivial malware.
My guess would be regional content law variations. For example, even if you download the Netflix APP and connect in China, it won't let you connect. Thing like Apple News and other features check your geographic location and actively disable certain features to comply with local laws. I imagine this is a way to prevent games not being approved in certain locations from being available in certain regions. This would allow geographic restrictions on certain games depending on applicable laws. Instead of disabling the whole app, it'll just restrict what games could be downloaded.
Netflix and XCloud are H.265 streams. They are fundamentally no different. Both are streamed from a remote server and interactions are controlled via a remote or controller. XCloud games just have more frequent interaction.
Absolutely - Apple are looking like they are doing something about Streaming gaming but putting such rules for this, that it actually deters such offerings on the App Store.
This is the most Apple sentence in existence.
Anyone else feel like Apple is becoming somebody’s old, confused dad trying to download more RAM to their computer?
Yeah thats a fair point to be honest, I guess a game like Fortnite which gets a lot of assets from a 3rd party server is an easy one to modify after submission.
So with that logic, Twitch, etc. should just release every streamer as a separate app to be downloaded from the app store, since you're "interacting" with them and that's an avenue for predatory behavior. Also you have to download each of your Facebook friends from the App store separately so Apple can make sure there is no predatory behavior going on there.
You can be interacting with other people using the web browser, facebook and a million other ways. Perhaps Apple should ban all of those. iOS users should only be allowed to communicate to Apple and watch a content created by Apple.
The only real change I see is an app like Hey would now fall under the reader category and thus not require IAP. The App Store rules seem as convoluted as ever. These changes for game streaming services aren’t going to bring any to the platform. They would have been better off saying we don’t allow game streaming services.
No they don't. Paying for access to streaming a video is not the same as something like lootboxes or cosmetic armor pieces or weapons, cheat codes yadda yadda. And they definitely don't have online mulitplayer. It's really just not comparable.
Apple doesn't promise to monitor all interactions on the web, but they do promise to review anything you can download from their app store. Your hyperbole totally misunderstands the actual policy.
iOS App Store has Discord and Reddit where you can pay for frivilous crap and interact with other people. Stop with the BS rationalizations, the only reason Apple did it was to prevent other services on iOS without outright banning them.
The end result will be the same: the services won't be available on iOS but they will be available on Android. This will hurt iOS i a long run and Apple will give up.
You don't even need to do it after submission necessarily. Embed malware right away but keep it dormant for, say, a month. The reviewers won't be able to detect it.
And they have to adhere to all of Apple's App Store policies. What is the point you're trying to make here?
The answer for game streaming services is to collectively not bother with Apple. The more that people breakout of the apple ecosystem and realise life doesn’t end the better for everyone.
I was on the fence about upgrading my iPhone X.....I used to upgrade annually when trade-in value was best with Gazelle, but between their huge price increases, the lack of 5G up until now, that their 5G support may not support mmWave, and all these stupid rules about what I can or cannot put on my phone... I just might wait a few more years to decide what to do next. Stop telling me what I can load on to my own $1200 handheld general purpose computer.
You're simply making stuff up. Assuming things work one way when they work entirely different. There's a whole internet out there with info on what game streaming is and how it works. Literally a few clicks away. There's no need for you to make assumptions, or at least when you do make assumptions they are informed.