Apple changes App Store rules to allow streaming game services, outside subscription apps

This story is part of Apple Event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.

Apple’s changing its App Store rules to allow game streaming services such as Sony’s PlayStation Now, Microsoft’s Xbox xCloud, Google’s Stadia and Nvidia’s GeForce Now. The move marks the company’s acknowledgement of the changing ways some people are playing video games.

Apple said the new moves will allow streaming game purveyors to publish apps with catalogs of their games, but the tech giant is also requiring they submit an app for each individual game for review and publication as well. As a result, people who want to use a game streaming service would find its associated app on Apple’s app store with reviews and ratings like every other app. When they tap on the app, it would likely then connect to the streaming service and begin playing the game.

The iPhone maker’s new rules go into effect just before the company’s expected to release its iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 software for its iPhones and iPads. The company’s also expected to announce a new set of iPhones sometime in the coming weeks, featuring a new design and promising superfast 5G wireless speeds.