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In speaking with CNBC (relayed by Gamasutra), Phil Spencer says that he is "sure" that Microsoft and Apple will be able to resolve their differences and get xCloud support on iOS sooner rather than later. When asked about what those differences are, Spencer says that they aren't of a financial matter but rather "philosophical."
The problem goes back to September when Apple changed its guidelines for streaming services. Their new guidelines forced streaming platforms on iOS to buy into the App Store ecosystem. These changes impacted services like xCloud and even Stadia.
Microsoft would reportedly need to make a separate app for every single Xbox title that is compatible with xCloud. As of right now, that would mean Microsoft would need to have a separate app for over 150 titles. That obviously would be a massive undertaking.
As of right now, cloud gaming is only available on Android devices.
"When you get large scale general compute platforms like mobile phones, people should have access to the great content and services that are out there, and we remain committed to that," said Spencer.
"There are over 3 billion people who play video games today, many of them play on phones, and we're committed to bringing Game Pass to all phones out there, including Apple Phones. We'll continue the conversations and I'm sure we'll get to some resolution.
"Our biggest issue isn't a financial issue. Our biggest issue is that cloud game streaming apps are actually not allowed in the way Game Pass is built for other platforms. For us, this is about gamers having great access to the content from the creators they love on the devices they own."
"There are over 3 billion people who play video games today, many of them play on phones, and we're committed to bringing Game Pass to all phones out there, including Apple Phones. We'll continue the conversations and I'm sure we'll get to some resolution.
"Our biggest issue isn't a financial issue. Our biggest issue is that cloud game streaming apps are actually not allowed in the way Game Pass is built for other platforms. For us, this is about gamers having great access to the content from the creators they love on the devices they own."
