Xbox Game Pass: Service aims to come to iOS in 2021


Microsoft has been pushing Xbox Game Pass heavily in the run-up to next-gen.

With the service spanning not just console but PC and allowing streaming games on to Android devices it is a gaming revolution.

But one that Apple consumers are currently excluded from, though maybe not for much longer...

Why is Xbox Game Pass not on iOS?

It's not for a lack of want on Microsoft's part that Apple users can't access Game Pass on their devices.

The bottleneck is Apple's rules about what apps can and cannot go onto iOS.

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Apple wants to certify every game available on the Game Pass service, something Microsoft already does.

Thankfully, it sounds as though iPhone and iPad users will get to stream Xbox games in the coming months, according to a report from Business Insider.

Xbox Game Pass on iOS

To get around the stringent policies on third part apps, Xbox head Phil Spencer has said Microsoft is aiming to bring Game Pass to iOS in 2021.

This would be done using a "direct brower-based solution".

It's something Amazon's Luna already does, and according to Business Insider, Xbox head Phil Spencer has told employees "We absolutely will end up on iOS with Game Pass".

Whether the service would be restricted to Apple's own Safari browser or be available on mobile versions of Chrome and other alternatives is anyone's guess, but for Xbox owners that primarily use Apple phones and tablets, it's a start.

What is Apple's position in all this?

Apple had previously said:

"The App Store was created to be a safe and trusted place for customers to discover and download apps, and a great business opportunity for all developers," the statement reads.

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"Our customers enjoy great apps and games from millions of developers, and gaming services can absolutely launch on the App Store as long as they follow the same set of guidelines applicable to all developers, including submitting games individually for review, and appearing in charts and search".

Microsoft responded with their own volley of words, and the two companies are still yet to hash things out.

"Our testing period for the Project xCloud preview app for iOS has expired. Unfortunately, we do not have a path to bring our vision of cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to gamers on iOS via the Apple App Store."

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