European Commission to investigate Apple’s stance against game streaming services

Last week, Microsoft officially scrapped plans for xCloud streaming on iOS, citing Apple's tight App Store rules as a result. Apple didn't deny this and in fact backed this up by saying that its store does not allow for streaming services like xCloud, GeForce Now etc on its platform. Sure enough, the European Commission has caught wind of this and will be investigating potential anti-trust violations. 

The EU Commission has investigated Apple many times, particularly when it comes to iOS, the App Store and the various services offered to iPhone and iPad users. Apple has been accused of anti-competitive behaviour by a number of companies, most notably, Spotify, which began publicly calling out Apple over its practices in 2018.

As reported by Reuters, the European Commission has opened four new probes into Apple, with three of them being related to the App Store and its restrictions on developers.

A spokesperson for the Commission also confirmed that it is “aware of” the concerns from companies like Facebook and Microsoft regarding Apple's App Store rules. At the moment, Apple has allowed PlayStation Remote and Steam Link streaming through the App Store. However, services like Facebook Gaming and Microsoft's xCloud, are not allowed to offer game streaming on iOS.

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KitGuru Says: We'll have to wait and see what the commission ultimately says, but I have no doubt that Apple will fight these criticisms for years to come, which will only serve to push gaming enthusiasts over to Android as their mobile platform of choice. 

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