Despite a certain “openness”, Apple still imposes too many restrictions and fees according to Xbox to offer its cloud gaming there.

Yesterday evening, Microsoft offered players its “Xbox Podcast”, a highly anticipated event, during which the American firm would unveil “the future of Xbox”. Despite some very pessimistic rumors, Xbox has confirmed its desire to move forward. This will indeed involve the porting of certain exclusive games to the competition, but also through new Xbox machines to come. No, Xbox is not dead then. On this occasion, the group also returned to home cloud gaming on iOS.

No Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS (yet)

In January, Apple announced various changes “to iOS, Safari and the App Store” starting in March of this year, with the aim of complying, in Europe, with the Digital Markets Act. Changes which will be integrated into the future iOS 17.4, even if Apple has managed to limit the damage by (ab)using all possible workarounds.

Remember that a few weeks ago, Sarah Bond indicated that Apple was going on the wrong track with its new AppStore guidelines.

On the Xbox side, the limitations imposed by Apple prevent the American company from being able to properly monetize its activity. Microsoft is not the only one to complain about Apple’s new directives, this is also the case for other tech giants, such as Epic Games and Spotify.

“We do not have the ability to monetize Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS. I think Apple’s proposal does not go far enough to accommodate competition,” said Phil Spencer in the columns of the American magazine The Verge.

it doesn’t sound like Microsoft is going to release an Xbox Cloud Gaming app on iOS, because Apple’s policy changes mean “there’s not room for us to monetize Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS.” Full interview with Xbox chief Phil Spencer here: https://t.co/EouWdu1LO3 pic.twitter.com/LBKJQsvYyn

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) February 15, 2024

For the record, Xbox Cloud Gaming is still available from Apple, in the form of a web app via Safari. However, with the future iOS 17.4 (which will notably bring something new to our texting), Apple will put an end to these same web apps in Europe.

The future iOS will in fact prevent these applications from launching in their own window, with progressive web apps which will (re)become Internet shortcuts.