Valve’s Steam Link App Rejected From the App Store
Valve (Hacker News):
Valve press statement on the Steam Link app for iOS being rejected by Apple.
Valve’s Steam Link app, which allows Steam users to stream their library of PC video games to a smartphone where they can play them while at home, has been rejected from iTunes by Apple, effectively blocking its release on iOS, according to Valve.
The Steam Link app for iOS, which was announced on May 9, is designed to allow Steam users to play their Steam games on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV using either a 5GHz WiFi network or a wired Ethernet connection to a host PC or Mac.
There are two parts to this story, both of which make Apple look bad. First, Steam Link is more or less equivalent to a VNC client. It doesn’t stream games from Valve’s servers — it streams them from a Mac or PC on your local network. As Ars points out, there are plenty of other VNC/remote desktop apps in the App Store.
As with many controversial App Store rejections, this one comes as a result of poor communication: Apple apparently allowed the app, which meant Valve could announce it, and then rejected it for unclear reasons.
We would love for Valve’s games and services to be on iOS and AppleTV. Unfortunately, the review team found that Valve’s Steam iOS app, as currently submitted, violates a number of guidelines around user generated content, in-app purchases, content codes, etc.
We’ve discussed these issues with Valve and will continue to work with them to help bring the Steam experience to iOS and AppleTV in a way that complies with the store’s guidelines.
Neither side seems to be talking about what those alleged violations are.
Update (2018-06-02): See also: The Talk Show, Steve Troughton-Smith.
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