Don't hold your breath for an iPhone Xbox Game Pass Cloud Gaming app

(Image credit: Xbox)

With the launch of the iOS 17.4 beta came some very exciting news for game streaming applications — game streaming services can now host their apps on the App Store. Although, it looks like Xbox Cloud Gaming, which allows you to stream Game Pass, won't be coming any time soon.

Speaking to The Verge, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said, "There’s not room for us to monetize Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS. I think the proposal that Apple put forward (...) doesn’t go far enough to open up. In fact, you might even say they go the opposite direction in some way, but they definitely don’t go far enough to open up competition on the world’s largest gaming platform."

This comes off the back of the DMA ruling that means Apple must open up iOS in the European Union, allowing third-party App Stores and apps. While gamers were excited at the prospect of playing Game Pass games on iPhone, it's not all doom and gloom considering how easy it is to add Xbox Cloud Gaming to iOS.

Spencer also adds in the interview, "We will continue to work with regulators, and Apple and Google, to create a space for alternative storefronts." So, an official app could come in the future if Microsoft and Apple see eye to eye.

Xbox Game Pass on the App Store

Xbox Game Pass is one of the best deals in all of gaming, allowing gamers to play hundreds of the best-quality Xbox exclusives, such as Forza Horizon 5 and Starfield, for a low monthly cost. With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can stream these games from Microsoft's servers directly to your iPhone or iPad, and the experience is great.

While no official Xbox Game Pass app is on the horizon, even with the changes coming in iOS 17.4, you can still play these games by adding a web application to your Home Screen to run through Safari. We hope dedicated game streaming apps arrive on iOS soon, but for now, at least, Xbox is tapping out.

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John-Anthony Disotto is the How To Editor of iMore, ensuring you can get the most from your Apple products and helping fix things when your technology isn’t behaving itself. Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself in his ability to complete his Apple Watch activity rings. John-Anthony has previously worked in editorial for collectable TCG websites and graduated from The University of Strathclyde where he won the Scottish Student Journalism Award for Website of the Year as Editor-in-Chief of his university paper. He is also an avid film geek, having previously written film reviews and received the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019. John-Anthony also loves to tinker with other non-Apple technology and enjoys playing around with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.

In his spare time, John-Anthony can be found watching any sport under the sun from football to darts, taking the term “Lego house” far too literally as he runs out of space to display any more plastic bricks, or chilling on the couch with his French Bulldog, Kermit.