Apple is finally letting developers release game streaming services on the App Store

Apple has announced some big changes for the App Store ecosystem, with the company permitting developers to release video game streaming apps at long last.

The drastic shift in stance, which was revealed in a recent Apple Developer news post, paves the way for native versions of services like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Amazon Luna to come to the iOS platform.

“Today, Apple is introducing new options for how apps globally can deliver in-app experiences to users, including streaming games and mini-programs,” the post reads. “Developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog.”

Previously, these services were only supported via web browser which meant that users were forced to frustratingly navigate to individual websites in order to stream their games every time they wanted to play.

The post goes on to state that these changes “reflect feedback from Apple’s developer community and is consistent with the App Store’s mission to provide a trusted place for users to find apps they love and developers everywhere with new capabilities to grow their businesses.”

This is undeniably a substantial win for consumers, who are finally going to have much more freedom when it comes to the kinds of gaming experiences available on iPhone. It seems very likely that we could see native versions of popular services make their way over soon, making it much easier for users of those services to play.

Although streaming apps will now be permitted worldwide, the announcement comes alongside other sweeping changes coming to iOS in the EU following an investigation by the European Commission. 

This includes new permission for developers to create their own engines for third-party browsers and additional options for users when it comes to choosing their preferred browser during setup. It was similarly announced that Fortnite would be returning to iOS this year in EU countries after the upcoming Digital Markets Act comes into effect.

For more on cloud gaming, see our Nvidia Geforce Now review. For more on mobile gaming, read about how your next gaming handheld could be an iPhone.