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On Monday, Facebook put a spin on cloud gaming by allowing gamers to instantly access a variety of mobile games on the social network without downloading apps, but it will not offer the service for Apple iOS devices.
Vice President of Gaming Jason Rubin pointed out that Facebook is not spinning off a cloud gaming service like Google Stadia and Microsoft xCloud, which offer console-quality titles hosted online.
Facebook’s new capability is designed to allow gamers to launch games on the social network and then switch to downloaded mobile apps without losing any progress that would not sync to iPhones due to “control” exerted by Apple, according to Rubin.
“Unfortunately, we are not releasing cloud games on iOS, so only Android and web gamers will enjoy cloud-integrated games on Facebook while we work on alternative options for iOS,” Rubin said in a blog post.
“Apple treats games differently and continues to exercise control over a very valuable resource.”
Excluding iPhones and iPads from Facebook’s cloud gaming offering is Apple’s latest dig for its tight control of the App Store, which is the sole source of content for the company’s coveted mobile devices, but requires a reduction in 30 percent of transactions.
Some developers say that Apple takes too large a share of revenue and maintains rigid policies that can cripple services that compete with those of the iPhone maker. Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, has taken Apple to court for the practice.
Apple has argued that its App Store gives billions of dollars to independent developers and that its practices are reasonable compared to other digital markets.
Only those who play with Android mobile devices or web browsers will be able to integrate with cloud games on Facebook for now, Rubin said.
Games available in the cloud on Facebook can be accessed instantly in the app or in browsers, according to Rubin. About 2 million people a week played cloud games on Facebook during a test in some regions, according to Rubin.
“We love console and PC games and both formats will be around for a long time,” said Rubin.
“We believe that cloud gaming will increase, not replace, the options for launching into great games.”
Gaming on Facebook dates back to when Farmville by Zynga was an obsession for many users.
The starting set of games includes Asphalt 9: Legends by Gameloft and PGA TOUR Golf Shootout by Concrete Software.
Are the iPhone 12 mini and HomePod mini the perfect Apple devices for India? We talked about this on Orbital, our weekly tech podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
