One year after Apple rejected Valve’s Steam Link app from launching in the App Store, it has finally made its debut for both iOS and tvOS devices.
Steam Link gives gamers the chance to play their favorite PC or Steam Machine game on an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, rather than having to haul around a big gaming laptop. In other words, to quote Anchorman‘s Ron Burgundy, this is kind of a big deal!
The long journey to Steam Link
Steam Link initially revealed that it was coming to iOS and Apple in May 2018. But Apple changed its mind somewhere during the review process. Steam Link was ultimately rejected as the result of supposed “business conflicts.” At the time, my colleague Killian Bell labelled the decision as “farcical.”
In the time since then, it seems that Steam has made a few Apple-friendly tweaks. For example, last year after Apple updated its App Store guidelines for remote desktop clients, it agreed to prevent players from making purchases on iPhone and iPad.
Barebones statement from Steam about Steam Link headed back to the Apple App Store pic.twitter.com/42y43ovvnI
— kif (@kifleswing) May 15, 2019
Jump forward to this week, and Steam Link has officially made its App Store debut. To take advantage of it, you’ll need to use an MFi or Steam controller.
You also must be playing on the same local network as your Mac, PC or Linux Steam system, making this a solution for playing around the home rather than when you’re out and about.
Nonetheless, this is great news for gaming fans who own either iPhones, iPads or Apple TVs. Add in the forthcoming Apple Arcade service, and 2019 is shaping up to be a good one for iOS gamers!
Source: iTunes
