U.K. launches investigation into Apple’s cloud gaming restrictions

By Cristina Alexander Published June 14, 2022

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is planning to launch an investigation into Apple’s restrictions on cloud gaming. The government agency announced in a press release that it is in the consultation phase of the investigation following a year-long market study into Apple, as well as its rival Google.

Craig Ferguson introducing Mac Gaming at WWDC. — Apple

The study found that the tech giants had a duopoly over the mobile market that severely restricted competition by third-party developers and deprived them of incentives. In the case of Apple, it’s looking into its restrictions on cloud gaming services on the App Store after hearing complaints from U.K. developers who say that such restrictions make it difficult for them to compete in the market, not to mention deprive users who prefer accessing a wide variety of games through cloud gaming that they cannot find in the App Store.

“Apple has also blocked the emergence of cloud gaming services on its App Store,” the CMA said. “Like web apps, cloud gaming services are a developing innovation, providing mobile access to high-quality games that can be streamed rather than individually downloaded. Gaming apps are a key source of revenue for Apple and cloud gaming could pose a real threat to Apple’s strong position in app distribution. By preventing this sector from growing, Apple risks causing mobile users to miss out on the full benefits of cloud gaming.”

The CMA plans to further investigate Apple’s cloud gaming restrictions and may make legally binding orders for the company to change its related business practices if it comes to that decision.

This is the second anti-competition investigation Apple is facing in the U.K. — or in Europe, for that matter. Last month, European Union officials ruled that Apple stifled competition with third-party mobile wallets to bolster Apple Pay, forcing iOS users to use that mobile wallet in lieu of other ones in order to make their payments. When will Apple learn?

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Cristina Alexander

Gaming/Mobile Writer

Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…

Gaming

PlayStation Portal misunderstands remote play and cloud gaming’s appeal

A PlayStation Portal boots up.

Sony finally revealed more details about its upcoming handheld, now called PlayStation Portal, but these announcements have soured my opinion on the device rather than hyped me up for it. I enjoy cloud gaming and have used a variety of services like Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and Xbox Cloud Gaming - across my phone and even dedicated devices like the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld. Because of that, I was really excited to see what PlayStation could do as it entered the space. Unfortunately, some specific exclusions from PlayStation Portal's functionality that make it more of a remote-play device rather than a cloud gaming handheld indicate that Sony has a fundamental misunderstanding about what people would want out of a PlayStation game streaming handheld.

Namely, the device's positioning as primarily a "remote play dedicated device" and the exclusion of PlayStation Plus Premium cloud gaming compatibility drastically shrinks the number of reasons people should pick the device up. Cloud gaming and devices built around it have been around long enough to show that an inclusive approach to the number of services, games, and kinds of game streaming available is vital to success, and for a $200 handheld, PlayStation Portal seems like it's excluding way too much.
Narrowing its appeal
Remote play differs from what's more ubiquitously referred to as cloud gaming players are running the games on their own consoles rather than a third-party console or server. Still, it's a form of streaming games over a Wi-Fi connection, typically through an app on a phone or device like the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld. That means you'll have to stick around your own home to use the PlayStation Portal, and its game library is limited to whatever the user owns on the console. That's limiting (it's like if Steam Deck only ran Steam Link) but does have some use cases. Still, it doesn't necessarily feel like it warrants a dedicated $200 device over a phone and a nice mobile controller like the Razer Kishi V2 or Backbone One - PlayStation Edition; haptic feedback and adaptive triggers only go so far.

Gaming

Microsoft gives Activision Blizzard cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft

Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming Service Enters Beta This Week

Microsoft announced its intention to grant Ubisoft, the publisher behind series like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, the cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard titles if Microsoft's acquisition of the Call of Duty publisher goes through.
This deal was made in order to appease the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Microsoft has not had an easy time trying to acquire Activision Blizzard as it has run into heavy resistance from regulatory bodies like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.K.'s CMA. The CMA's complaints centered around the potential monopoly Microsoft could have on cloud gaming if the deal were to go through. There was speculation that Microsoft would divest its U.K. cloud gaming efforts to appease the CMA, but it has now presented this new plan that would technically make it give up control of Activision Blizzard game-streaming rights worldwide for the next 15 years.
In a blog post, Microsoft President Brad Smith explainsed that if the Activision Blizzard acquisition happens, Microsoft will give "cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision Blizzard PC and console games released over the next 15 years" in perpetuity following a one-off payment.
Essentially, Ubisoft will be the one deciding which cloud gaming platforms and services to put Activision Blizzard games on, not Microsoft. Smith claims that this means "Microsoft will not be in a position either to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service -- Xbox Cloud Gaming -- or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services," and that Ubisoft will allow them to honor existing agreements with companies like Nvidia.

Ubisoft has been cloud gaming friendly over the past several years, eagerly putting its games on services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna. With this deal, Ubisoft says it plans to bring Activision Blizzard games to its Ubisoft+ subscription service. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick also commented on the deal, saying that he approves of the deal, but that "nothing substantially changes with the addition of this divestiture" for Activision Blizzard and its investors.
The current deadline for Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is October 18.

Gaming

Apple Arcade adds 20 new games today, including 4 originals

A car with legs runs on a track in What The Car?

Apple Arcade is expanding its library of games today with 20 new titles, available now for subscribers. The list includes some brand new titles from popular franchises like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as a selection of "App Store Greats."

Apple's mobile game subscription service has been steadily running since its 2019 launch. In addition to adding new games monthly, Apple has revitalized the service with larger surprises of this scale. In 2021, the service added over 30 games and changed its model to bundle older mobile games into the platform. Today's update isn't quite that big, but it's one of the service's most substantial updates yet.