Netflix's push into mobile gaming goes another way— distribution is still through the Apple app store, and all the individual titles are $0, but at startup they do a handshake with your Netflix app to make sure you're logged into an active account.
Obviously that doesn't break the stranglehold on the distribution side, so you're still subject to Apple's delays, errors, and moralizing through the review process. And I expect Apple would have something to say about it if the "main app" was in fact taking your money in an a la carte way vs just being a gateway to a subscription. Either way, it's not hard to see how Xbox Game Pass could pursue a similar model and point to what Netflix is doing as being basically the same deal.
Obviously that doesn't break the stranglehold on the distribution side, so you're still subject to Apple's delays, errors, and moralizing through the review process. And I expect Apple would have something to say about it if the "main app" was in fact taking your money in an a la carte way vs just being a gateway to a subscription. Either way, it's not hard to see how Xbox Game Pass could pursue a similar model and point to what Netflix is doing as being basically the same deal.