Apple has wasted little time in adjusting its rules to allow Valve’s Steam Link app to appear on the App Store. The company updated the developer guidelines during the WWDC conference; and may open a way for other game developers to build similar game streaming apps for iOS.
The issue with Steam Link was that it allowed users to mirror the Steam client on their devices, including the Steam Store. Something that would end up circumventing Apple’s rule of taking 30% of all in-app sales revenue. For that reason, Apple had guidelines that would prevent these sorts of apps from appearing on the App Store in the first place.
However, the new guidelines alter this rule. Allowing apps that act like a remote desktop to sell their own content without giving Cupertino a cut. The only catch is that all of the relevant transactions must be performed from the desktop PC; and not from within the iOS app.
In other words, these new guidelines are very specifically aimed at allow the Steam Link. At the same time, Apple is able to protect its valuable App Store revenue stream.
Valve has not responded to the new guidelines yet, but we imagine that the iOS Steam Link app will be released soon enough.
[Source: Reuters]
