Xbox Cloud Gaming Availability: Microsoft Addresses Worldwide Access Concerns on iOS App

Microsoft has finally spilled the beans on why it’s been dragging its feet on releasing an Xbox Cloud Gaming app for iOS – and it’s not exactly a surprise. Apple made it possible for cloud gaming apps to hit the App Store back in January, but you wouldn’t know it from the lack of excitement from game service developers. There’s still no GeForce Now app from Nvidia, and no Xbox Cloud Gaming app from Microsoft.

So, what’s the holdup? Well, it turns out that Microsoft is still not happy with Apple’s App Store guidelines, which they claim don’t go far enough. Specifically, they’re still bothered by the 30% commission fee Apple charges on in-app purchases. Microsoft claims this fee is “neither economically sustainable nor justifiable” for cloud gaming apps.

But that’s not all – Microsoft also thinks that Apple’s restrictions on monetization are a problem. They say that Apple prevents game developers from offering different content, subscriptions, or features to iOS users, which makes it tough to make a profit. And to make matters worse, game developers would need to recode their games to comply with Apple’s requirements, which is just another thing for them to worry about.

One of the proposed solutions to this impasse is for Apple to allow cloud gaming apps to be “read-only”, which would strip out any IAP or game recoding requirements. This could also force Apple and Google to permit third-party IAPs.

Apple claims that it allows cloud gaming access on its devices through the web, but let’s be real – it’s not exactly an optimal experience. Microsoft mentions some of the limitations, including the inability to access device hardware features that apps are allowed to. So, it looks like we’re stuck with a subpar experience for the foreseeable future.