Apple's rule changes to open the app store to cloud gaming are not enough for Microsoft to launch a Game Pass app on iOS and tvOS, according to the Microsoft Gaming CEO.

On January 26, Apple announced that "developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog" worldwide on tvOS (Apple TV), iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

The rule changes were long overdue. In essence, Apple now finally permits game streaming apps such as Xbox Game Pass and GeForce Now. Google Stadia would have also been allowed if it were still operational.


"Not room for us to monetize"
Despite the changes, Microsoft still has no plans to launch an Xbox Game Pass app on Apple's platforms. Here is what the company told The Verge in an interview:

- "There's not room for us to monetize Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS. I think the proposal that Apple put forward — and I thought Sarah Bond's comments on this were right on — doesn't go far enough to open up. In fact, you might even say they go the opposite direction in some way, but they definitely don't go far enough to open up competition on the world's largest gaming platform," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said and continued:

- "We will continue to work with regulators, and Apple and Google, to create a space for alternative storefronts. I'm a big fan of how Windows works, and you've got a Microsoft Store on Windows, you've got Steam, you've got the Epic Games Store, you've got GOG. You have alternatives, and I think alternative ways for people to buy things creates goodness for consumers and creators. I think the largest platform for gamers, which is mobile, should have the same."


A hypocritical Microsoft
It is difficult to understand why the new rules would not allow Microsoft to monetize its game service. Apple takes a 30% cut of subscription revenue for users who have signed up only through Apple platforms, and a 15% cut in all following years. Not a dime from the millions of existing Game Pass subscribers would go to Apple.

Microsoft has just announced plans to bring Xbox-exclusive games to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, both of which take a 30% cut of all sales. So does Xbox itself.

Microsoft's CEO talks about the open nature of Windows, but ironically Xbox, like PlayStation, is one of the most closed platforms out there, and Microsoft has made no effort to allow alternative app stores like Steam or game services on Xbox.

Of course, Microsoft is free to partner with whomever it chooses, but that is something else entirely than hypocritically calling for regulation when one represents a company with a history of receiving record antitrust fines. Most recently, Microsoft came under global scrutiny for its acquisition of one of the world's largest game companies, Activision Blizzard, seemingly with intentions to restrict access to games rather than foster openness.