Social media giant Facebook on Monday introduced a twist to cloud gaming, which will let players to quickly hop into a host of mobile games at the social network without having to download the apps. However, this service has been rolled out for just Android devices. 

Vice president of play Jason Rubin said that the social networking platform is not spinning off the service identical to Google Stadia and Microsoft xCloud, which enable users to play console-quality titles hosted online.

Also Read | Facebook asks NYU to block its political ad targeting research

The new service will enable players to start gaming on Facebook and then hop onto the downloaded apps without losing progress. The capability will not be available for iOS devices because of Apple’s exertion of ‘control’, AFP reported quoting Rubin.

“Unfortunately, we’re not launching cloud games on iOS, so only Android and web players will enjoy integrated cloud games on Facebook while we work on alternative options for iOS,” Rubin said in a blog post.

“Apple treats games differently and continues to exert control over a very precious resource,” read the post.

Also Read | You can now mute a WhatsApp chat forever. Here is how

Excluding iPhones and iPads from the Facebook cloud games offering is the latest dig at Apple for its tight grip on the App Store, which is the sole source of content for the company’s coveted mobile devices but takes a 30% cut of transactions.

Many developers say that Apple takes a big bite of the revenue and its strict policies often hamstring services that compete with it.

Epic Games, the maker of popular game FortNite, has even taken the company to court for this.

Apple has argued its App Store delivers billions of dollars to independent developers, and that its practices are reasonable compared with other digital marketplaces.

Only those playing with Android-powered mobile devices or through web browsers will be able to integrate with cloud games on Facebook for now, Rubin said.

Games made available in the cloud at Facebook can be accessed instantly in the application or in browsers, according to Rubin. Some 200,000 people per week played cloud-streamed games at Facebook during a trial run in a few regions, according to Rubin.

“We love console and PC gaming and both formats will be around for a long time,” Rubin said.

“We believe cloud gaming will increase — not replace — the options to jump into great games.”

Gaming at Facebook dates back to its early days when “Farmville” by Zynga was an obsession for many users.

The initial set of games includes Asphalt 9: Legends by Gameloft and PGA TOUR Golf Shootout by Concrete Software.