The future of Xbox Cloud Gaming app on iOS could be in limbo

Have you been waiting for the Xbox Cloud Gaming app on iOS? If so, well, we may have some bad news.

Microsoft has long been saying that launching the Xbox Cloud Gaming app on iOS could be hard to achieve. But, in a recent response to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Redmond company criticized Apple’s 30% App Store fee and slammed it as “neither economically sustainable nor justifiable.”

“The 30% commission fee makes it impossible for Microsoft to effectively monetize its cloud gaming service offering,” the company mentions further.

Microsoft also says that the regulation “prevents different content, subscriptions or features (including consumables in multiplatform games) being offered to iOS users (as compared to the content, subscriptions and features offered on other platforms),” comparing it to Google’s flexible policies on Android that have long allowed sideloading & third-party app stores.

Apple, on the other hand, insists it supports cloud gaming via web apps and points out that some developers are successfully working within the existing guidelines. The UK’s CMA is currently investigating the situation and will publish a report later this year in November.

The Redmond company also contends that Apple’s rules on in-app purchases and restrictions on linking to external subscription services unfairly burden third-party game developers, particularly those involved in cloud gaming.

Apple started opening up its ecosystem for third-party app stores a little while ago this year, but that came with a lot of criticisms. A lot of changes have also been made to the guidelines, but still. We’re yet to see a GeForce Now app from Nvidia or an Xbox Cloud Gaming app from Microsoft on iOS.

Until now, you can play Xbox games on your Android device with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or a supported free game. Download the Xbox Game Pass app from the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store, or use a web browser at xbox.com/play.