News > Gaming Leaked Emails Show Would-Be Apple and Microsoft App Store Teamup Xbox-exclusives on the iPhone? By Lawrence Bonk Lawrence Bonk News Reporter Florida State University Lawrence Bonk is a tech news reporter for Lifewire, specializing in gaming, AI, VR, and consumer tech, including iOS, macOS, wearables, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on December 10, 2021 01:40PM EST Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Gaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming There’s Coke and there’s Pepsi, but what would happen if these two corporate giants became best buds and released some kind of franken-cola? That almost happened with Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft nearly struck a deal with Apple to release a slew of Xbox-exclusive games on the App Store, according to leaked Apple emails unearthed by The Verge. These would not have been stripped down mobile versions of popular franchises, like a match 3 Halo game or whatever, but rather the full legitimate releases running on iPhones and iPads. Alexandru Acea How is this possible? It’s all about Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) platform, which can stream AAA titles remotely from a server farm. If this deal had been finalized, you could have, theoretically, purchased Halo Infinite on Apple’s App Store and played it right on your phone without having to spring for an Xbox Game Pass. According to February 2020 emails, however, Microsoft Xbox head of business development Lori Wright expressed some concern over the end-user experience of such a move. Wright said some of the issues with the convergence could create confusion for consumers and an overall frustrating experience compared to games running on the native platform. Apple’s App Store guidelines eventually got the better of these negotiations, with talks breaking down in September 2020. Microsoft said that a particular sticking point was that Apple wanted each game to open as an individual app, with no universal point of entry or single umbrella app. Xbox Cloud Gaming CVP Kareen Choudry noted that Apple eventually rejected their proposals for a Game Pass-like app on the App Store, and that was that. Of course, iPads and iPhones lack—you know—buttons, so that would have likely been another issue down the line. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit