Earlier this month, gaming software giant, Valve Corporation, announced that they were developing an app for both iOS and Android and would enable gamers to play their favorite PC games (via Steam) on their smartphones and tablets. All you needed for this to work is a 5GHz Wifi connection (802.11 N/AC) and you could stream your games, some up to 4K, all with your mobile device.
Sounds pretty good for those who don’t already own a Steam Link and want to get their PC gaming on, outside of where their computer resides. That being said, I did play around with the earlier beta on my Android devices and was surprised on how well it worked.
While Alphabet/Google was all aboard, it seems that the Apple corporation has done a complete turnaround on the decision. Initially, they approved the app on May 7, 2018. However, after a short while, Apple decided that on May 10 they would revoke the approval of the app. Reasons for this were due to “business conflicts with app guidelines“. In short, it means that they don’t want the competition.
Valve immediately filed an appeal and is waiting to see how they and Apple can work together to get this app approve. Again.
Valve press statement on the Steam Link app for iOS being rejected by Apple. pic.twitter.com/dIAW22izfz
— SteamDB (@SteamDB) May 24, 2018
I’m not even sure why this is surprising to most people. This is Apple we’re talking about, a company doesn’t exactly like others playing in its sandbox. For Valve to come out and say “Hey, we’re going to build this app that let’s play on their Steam Link using your devices”, I don’t know how they figured this would come out. This would be in direct competition with not only their iPhone but also their Apple TV, both of which the company has been pushing for gaming.
Apple’s standpoint and business practice is and always has been about them. From their devices to their ecosystem. Which is one of the reasons why I’ve refused to move to their ecosystem, even though some of their hardware is very attractive.
To say I’m appalled by Apple’s behavior would be an understatement. As I can’t see how this would impact them in any way. They aren’t in competition with PC gaming, yet this sudden change feels like it is. I thought Apple was all about actually gaming, but yet here we are. Definitely disappointing to iOS users who have huge catalogs of Steam games. More so for those who went out and purchased Steam controllers, in preparation for the now in limbo Steam Link app.
Maybe they’re afraid of losing some of that Fortnite and PUBG kickback if people use their ioS devices to game on the PC. You know, instead of using their iOS devices.
