Apple Won't Allow Steam Link on the App Store

The physical Steam Link box, which wirelessly pipes PC games to a TV. While Apple has stayed quiet on the subject, Valve has issued a statement on the issue.

"On Monday, May 7, Apple approved the Steam Link app for release", reads a Valve statement. Via an upcoming Steam Link app, Android and iOS users would be able to play their PC games on their mobile devices, with some caveats.

It goes on to state that Valve attempted to appeal the decision, adding that many similar remote desktop streaming apps exist on the App Store, to no avail.

A beta version of Steam Link launched on Android earlier this week, but the iOS version isn't happening. "The team here spent many hours on this project and the approval process, so we're clearly disappointed", Valve said. But we hope Apple will reconsider in the future.A definite weird situation, and baffling too as the app store has no shortage of remote-desktop like apps in addition to mountains of shovel-ware. For its part, Valve said that it appealed to Apple because it does not agree that the Steam Link app is in violation of any App Store guidelines.

Valve's massive Steam gaming platform has been dubbed the "iTunes of video games", and its presence on iOS would create competition for games made natively for iOS. It previously required a set-top box that needed to be plugged into a TV, but with the Steam Link app, you can enjoy your favorite titles nearly anywhere around your home.

Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all revenue developers make from iOS apps and games.

This isn't the first time Apple has run foul with developers. Steam Link achieves the same goal of letting PC gamers play something on their television sets (and in this case on-the-go) without having to invest in a full living room system. Isn't every remote desktop service breaking exactly the same rules?