Valve Reveals Apple 'Revoked' Release of Steam Link on App Store

PC gamers can no longer stream games to their iOS-powered devices after Valve revealed that Apple has “revoked” the release of Steam Link on the App Store.

Valve chronicled how the launch of Steam Link app on iOS crumbled in a statement released Thursday. The video game distributor and developer said Apple granted the release of the Steam Link app last May 7 which was followed by a formal announcement of the product on May 9.

However, that was immediately reversed the following day as, according to Valve, “Apple revoked its approval citing business conflicts with app guidelines that had allegedly not been realized by the original review team.”

Valve naturally appealed for Apple to overturn its latest decision but did not achieve favorable results. The game developer said they tried to explain that the mobile app in question “simply functions as a LAN-based remote desktop similar.”

Valve further argued that Steam Link works the same way as other remote desktop applications that are currently available on the App Store. But Apple was apparently not convinced with Valve’s appeals. The Steam Link app was then ultimately blocked from the App Store.

Meanwhile, Valve expressed their disappointment with how the events turned out stating that their team “spent many hours” to deliver the Steam Link app and to acquire Apple’s approval. The video game company remains hopeful that Apple would “reconsider in the future.”

As of this writing, Apple is yet to respond to reports of Steam Link’s rejection from the App Store. And apart from the vague grounds to revoke Steam Link’s release on iOS, people can only speculate on the reasons behind Apple’s decision.

Ars Technica suggested that “business conflicts” may refer to the fact that a free-to-use Steam Link will not provide any direct profit to Apple. The same report cited Business for Apps’ review of App Store’s 2017 revenue where 49% of its earnings were brought in by gaming apps.

Meanwhile, CNET has a more feasible-sounding theory on what fueled Apple’s decision. The report noted that Apple might be cooking up their own game streaming product which will obviously stand in conflict with offering a major competitor (that is Valve’s Steam Link) on their own platform.