Apple Just Removed Valve's Steam Link App From the iOS App Store

Earlier this month Valve announced that it would be releasing a new, standalone Steam Link app that would let players stream their PC games on Steam to their phones. The app is currently available for Android devices, but Valve has just announced that Apple has rejected the app for the iOS App Store.

"On Monday, May 7th Apple approved the Steam Link app for release. On Weds, May 9th Valve released news of the app. The following morning, Apple revoked its approval citing business conflicts with app guidelines that had allegedly not been realized by the original review team," says Valve in a press release.

According to Valve, the company appealed to Apple, claiming that the app "simply functions as a LAN-based remote desktop similar to numerous remote desktop applications already available on the App Store."

However, that appeal was denied which leaves the Steam link app unavailable on the iOS. With the appeal denied, Valve sas that it hopes Apple will reconsider in the future.

The Apple App Store is different in many ways from Android's Google Play Store. The App ecosystem is highly regulated, and that extra security is a key selling point of the App Store. But, Apple occasionally takes a portion of the proceeds from sales generated from one of its apps leading some to claim Apple is monopolizing the apps on its stores. Some functions, like making digital purchases through the Amazon app on iOS devices are disabled as a result.

This leaves Android the only OS with access to Valve's Steam Link App. So if you're a PC gamer who's hoping to stream their games to their phones, it better be an Android device.