Facebook has now released its Facebook Gaming app on iOS, however, it seems that the company is not happy about it. The social media giant has been trying to get the Facebook Gaming application approved in Apple’s App Store. However, the app has been rejected five times since February of this year, and the company finally got the approval this week, however, Facebook had to remove the mini games feature from the Facebook Gaming application.
The Facebook Gaming application is primarily used to watch streamers play games, but the application also features mini games. Facebook had to remove the mini games feature because of Apple’s restrictive policies. The social media giant is now joining Microsoft in condemning the App Store policies of Apple, and the company is not happy about this compromise.
The Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, told media outlets that the company had to launch the Gaming app without the gameplay functionality to get Apple’s approval on the app. This indicates that iPhone users will have an inferior experience of the Facebook Gaming app as compared to Android users. She also added that the company is focused on building communities for over 380 million individuals who play games on Facebook’s platform every month, whether Apple allows the functionality in a standalone application or not.
The company rolled out the Android version of the Gaming app back in April of this year and was planning to roll out the iOS version at the same time. But, the company was not able to roll out the iOS app since Apple rejected the app several times for violating the policies of Apple’s App Store on third-party apps. According to that guideline, HTML5 games are only allowed if the code distribution is not the primary purpose of the application.
Apple claims that the primary purpose of the Facebook Gaming application is to play video games, however, Facebook shared usage data from the Android app that indicates that 95% of the activity of users is watching streamers play video games. But Apple ignored Facebook’s appeals, and Facebook had to launch the app without the mini games features.
Apple has been facing criticism from competitors as well as the gaming industry to loosen the Apple Store restrictive policies. Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook was accused of harming competition in Apple App Store in an antitrust hearing before the US House Judiciary. Microsoft also announced on Thursday that Apple was blocking the company’s efforts to bring Microsoft xCloud service to iOS users.
Read next: TikTok Was The Most Download Non-Gaming App across the World in July Followed by Facebook
The Facebook Gaming application is primarily used to watch streamers play games, but the application also features mini games. Facebook had to remove the mini games feature because of Apple’s restrictive policies. The social media giant is now joining Microsoft in condemning the App Store policies of Apple, and the company is not happy about this compromise.
The Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, told media outlets that the company had to launch the Gaming app without the gameplay functionality to get Apple’s approval on the app. This indicates that iPhone users will have an inferior experience of the Facebook Gaming app as compared to Android users. She also added that the company is focused on building communities for over 380 million individuals who play games on Facebook’s platform every month, whether Apple allows the functionality in a standalone application or not.
The company rolled out the Android version of the Gaming app back in April of this year and was planning to roll out the iOS version at the same time. But, the company was not able to roll out the iOS app since Apple rejected the app several times for violating the policies of Apple’s App Store on third-party apps. According to that guideline, HTML5 games are only allowed if the code distribution is not the primary purpose of the application.
Apple claims that the primary purpose of the Facebook Gaming application is to play video games, however, Facebook shared usage data from the Android app that indicates that 95% of the activity of users is watching streamers play video games. But Apple ignored Facebook’s appeals, and Facebook had to launch the app without the mini games features.
Apple has been facing criticism from competitors as well as the gaming industry to loosen the Apple Store restrictive policies. Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook was accused of harming competition in Apple App Store in an antitrust hearing before the US House Judiciary. Microsoft also announced on Thursday that Apple was blocking the company’s efforts to bring Microsoft xCloud service to iOS users.
Read next: TikTok Was The Most Download Non-Gaming App across the World in July Followed by Facebook
