Netflix will reportedly make the game available through the App Store on iOS

Earlier this month, Netflix officially entered gaming by launching a mobile game service for Android users. While Netflix says it's working on an iOS version of the service, Bloomberg Tech reporter Mark Gurman says Apple's App Store policies will prevent Netflix from making games available from its apps.

Apple blocks third-party apps from serving as hubs for games, which has become the subject of controversy with cloud gaming services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia. Cloud gaming services can achieve this by simply offering their games through a web app, like Facebook has already done.

According to Gurman's latest Power On newsletter, Netflix will get around Apple's rules by making its game available through the App Store. This means games won't be downloadable or playable from the Netflix app - you'll only be able to launch them from there. The service currently works on Android as follows; The games are neatly packaged in a dedicated tab on the Netflix app, but downloaded separately from the Google Play Store.

While this setup is fine, it isn't ideal for an all-in-one gaming service. Users should be able to download and play games within the service itself. Which is why Gurman predicts that Netflix will eventually bring its game to the cloud. Again, this will work fine for Android, but Apple's policies make it nearly impossible for cloud gaming, forcing the services to settle for average web apps. If and when Netflix decides to adopt cloud gaming, it's unclear what will happen to the service on iOS.

"Apple will need to change its rules or give Netflix a waiver," Gurman says. "This leaves the ultimate success of Netflix's service in the hands of Apple, a longtime partner but also a growing rival."