Apple have officially responded to concerns raised over their snubbing of Valve's Steam Link application, claiming that the app actually "violates a number of guidelines "around user generated content, in-app purchases, content codes, etc."
Apple sent their response to anyone who has along the way enquired as to the reasons why Steam Link isn't coming to iOS, including some reddit users who've been pretty quick to post it online.
The email claims Apple "would love for Valve's games and services to be on iOS and AppleTV" but that doesn't mean Steam Link can circumvent the App Store's rules.
This is in sharp contrast to Valve's , where GabeN's knights suggested that Steam Link's violations of these guidelines are just alleged. At the time, they insisted that Steam Link had first been cleared by Apple, only to be re-reviewed and blocked a few days later.
A quick glance at App Store's guidelines reveals the company doesn't allow for apps with "interface for displaying third party apps similar to the App Store", "unrestricted user-generated content" and at least a few more Apple-ordained no-nos.
To be fair to Apple, the company has always been quite strict when it comes to the App Store and it has reaped dividends too. Anyone who's owned Android and iWhatever can tell you that that Google Play Store is a mess in comparison. Make no mistake, the same thing they're often lambasted for, their authoritarian insistence on certain standards, has been key in that respect.
It has been suggested that Apple fears Steam for the apparent risk of haemorrhaging cash to Valve's platform. With a healthy chunk of the company's profits coming from their mobile gaming sector, Apple doesn't want to gamble.
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Ultimately though, it seems that Steam Link's only effective difference to other streaming apps on the App Store is the fact they sell games too. Thankfully, this should be a silver lining for anyone who already invested in the idea, because the solution should be as easy as removing Steam Store. Valve's turn we guess.
