Sony was seemingly planning to launch its cloud gaming service PlayStation Now on Apple iPhones, a “confidential” document from the Epic vs Apple trial reveals. As examined by The Verge, the Japanese tech giant was considering launching the gaming service in 2017, two years before Apple formally introduced its own gaming service Apple Arcade. The report notes that the document highlights Apple knew about Sony’s plans, further indicating that the Cupertino-based tech giant revamped App Store rules to make it difficult for third-party cloud service providers to enter the iOS ecosystem. Another report published earlier this month pointed that Microsoft tried to negotiate with Apple to roll out Xbox-exclusive games on the App Store but failed due to strict regulations.
The report notes that had Sony been able to launch PlayStation Now on iOS, it would’ve been its biggest expansion at the time. Apple had heard about a “[not-yet-announced] mobile extension of an existing streaming service for PlayStation users, streaming access to over 450+ PS3 games to start, with PS4 games to follow,” the report reads. In 2017, Sony’s gaming service was only available on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita but later landed on PlayStation 4 and Windows PCs.
But it seems Sony still wants to expand operations and is said to be working on “Project Spartacus” that would bundle its cloud gaming service with a PlayStation Plus subscription. It would add the original PlayStation 1 title and “eventually” roll out PlayStation 5 games with the service. However, it is unclear whether the service would reach smartphones.
Last year, Apple updated its App Store policies, which created a massive hurdle for cloud gaming service providers. The company said that service providers must submit each game on the service as an individual for inspection before being available to the public. At the time, Microsoft had said that new rules would bring an experience for game lovers on iOS devices.
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