Google has announced iOS support for its cloud gaming service, Stadia, by revealing it's been working on a progressive web app version of Stadia that can run in Apple’s Safari mobile browser.

This is a lot like how Microsoft will offer xCloud on iOS in 2021. Google is ahead of Microsoft, however, in that it plans to begin public testing in a matter of weeks. Nvidia has adopted Google and Microsoft's solution, as well, because it also announced on 20 November 2020 that it built a beta web app version of the GeForce Now cloud gaming service for iOS that can run in Safari.

Web app versions of cloud gaming services essentially allow Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, and others to sidestep Apple's App Store rules. 

The Cupertino-based company made a decision this past summer to block cloud gaming services on its app store, by imposing rules that restrict software from streaming games on iOS devices. It later relaxed those rules, but Apple still requires all companies to submit individual games - which are intended to be streamed through cloud gaming services - for App Store review.

As for Stadia, specifically, it's been exactly one year since its public launch last autumn. In celebration, Google has also announced the first free-to-play games that are coming to Stadia. For more about Stadia and how the service works on phones, check out our in-depth guide.