> GoG, Steam, Humble Bundle, Epic Games, Origin, etc. Don’t like Windows game stores, no problem just use a competitor.

This is literally their point. Windows gaming is a convoluted mess of stores that you have to juggle, a far cry from the experience Apple has been trying to offer to consumers.

Having to click, once, between different stores if you really care about a game is not some convoluted process.

And analogies to streaming services don’t hold up for a few reasons:

1. There’s no ongoing cost to have an account at the each, purchases are one time.

2. Games do not leave services the way shows leave streaming sites.

> Games do not leave services the way shows leave streaming sites

This already isn’t accurate, and it’s getting less so all the time.

I guess I’d like to see some examples of games being pulled from stores and also from the libraries of paid customers.

It’s not convoluted. There’s just multiple stores. You can get 99.9% of the games you want on steam.

You now have different terms of service for these stores, including rules about data collection. Software will be exclusively available on these stores, so it’s not like you’ll actually have a choice about whether to use a given store.

Just like those “competitive” windows game stores.

The horror of having different companies allowed to set their own rules for how they interact with people. This scenario is how websites and the web as a whole work, it’s how macOS and windows work.

And if you have concerns about privacy or shady business practices (I do too) remember that Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter are allowed on the App Store and get preferential treatment.

The third party I want protecting me from sharing practices isn’t Apple (who is whole unaccountable) it’s the government.