Cloud gaming service Shadow has been removed from the App Store for violating guidelines

Shadow Streaming Lifestyle (Image credit: Shadow)

What you need to know

Shadow is a cloud gaming service similar to Google Stadia.
There were iPad, Apple TV, and iPhone apps available in the App Store.
Apple has removed the apps due to guideline violations.

French cloud gaming company Shadow (opens in new tab) has confirmed that Apple has removed its streaming apps from the App Store for a "failure to act in accordance with a specific part of the Apple App Store Guidelines".

Shadow allows users to play games remotely, bringing PC-like gaming to any device. It allows games to be played on devices that wouldn't normally be capable of doing so, but unless you already have the apps installed, you're now out of luck.

The company confirmed the removal in a Reddit post, simply saying that it will be "investigating the situation" in order to find a way to get the apps back online. At the time of writing, all of Shadows apps – iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV – had been removed.

Due to failure to act in accordance with a specific part of the Apple App Store Guidelines, our mobile apps for iPhone/iPad will be removed.We are currently investigating the situation and will work on a plan to bring Shadow back to everyone of you mobile users as soon as possible!Of course, we will keep you updated on this matter with information as it becomes available.

Shadow didn't go into detail as to what it has done that's gotten Apple's attention. But it's suggested that the ability to buy games via the app was enough to bring the hammer down. Apple famously charges 30% of the price of in-app purchases as payment for handling the transaction.

The whole thing smells like a similar situation that befell Steam when it first tried to make the jump to iPhone. Ultimately Shadow will need to remove the option to buy games in-app, or start to hand over 30% of all transactions.

Now it's down to Shadow to make that decision.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.