Microsoft attacks App Store's 'bad experience for customers'

Apple changes rules to allow Xcloud gaming, but Microsoft remains dissatisfied

At the end of last week, Apple adjusted its App Store rules to allow for game streaming services such as Microsoft's Xcloud and Google's Stadia. But far from welcoming the change, Microsoft is openly criticising the updated regulations, pointing out that they force the company to upload each game separately, in order to then be able to link to them via its Xcloud service.

In a statement to The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson said that this was leading to a "bad experience for customers".

"Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalogue within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud," the spokesperson said.

At time of writing, Apple has not responded to the criticism. Its App Store policies have come under fire from all sides this year; only last week Mark Zuckerberg joined the barrage. The company's feud with Epic Games may be approaching a resolution, however, with news that Apple last week offered an olive branch in the form of an "indefinite extension" to Fortnite's Sign In With Apple access.

This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by David Price.