Facebook Gaming finally clears hurdle, arriving in App Store

[NEW YORK] For six months, Facebook tried to get Apple to approve its new Facebook Gaming app so it could be available in Apple's App Store. Each time, Apple said no.

This week, Facebook said it had acceded to Apple's demands to change its Gaming app so that it could be distributed to iPhone and iPad users starting Friday. To comply with Apple's rules, which prohibit apps if their "main purpose" is distributing software such as games, the social network said it had entirely removed playable games from its new app.

Facebook said Apple had essentially used its power over the App Store to force its hand, turning the Gaming app into an inferior experience for iPhone and iPad owners. In addition to playable games, the original version of the app allows users to watch and create live gameplay streams and participate in gaming communities - functions that will still operate in the Apple version.

The frustration with Apple extends to Facebook's highest echelons. In a statement, Sheryl Sandberg, the company's chief operating officer, said, "Unfortunately, we had to remove gameplay functionality entirely in order to get Apple's approval on the stand-alone Facebook Gaming app." She added that Facebook would continue to build communities for those who played games on Facebook, "whether Apple allows it in a stand-alone app or not."

Games are the largest source of revenue for Apple on the App Store, and many tech executives have concluded that Apple blocks game services that could compete with its own products and sales.

While Facebook runs the world's largest social network and owns many popular apps such as Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, Apple controls their distribution through its App Store. That makes Facebook dependent on Apple to reach many of its users.

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Facebook announced its Gaming app in April, saying people could use it to watch livestreams of games and play simple games like Words With Friends and Thug Life. Google's Play store for Android devices approved it that month.

But Apple rejected at least five versions of Facebook Gaming this year.

On Friday, when Facebook releases the app for iPhone and iPad users, it also intends to distribute a cheeky image of the "Play" aspect of the app crossed out in red, with an asterisk reading, "Edited on iPhone."

NYTimes