GameSphere — Third-party notices
Last updated: September 16, 2026
GameSphere is a fork of Moonlight (iOS/tvOS game-streaming client). The shipped binary includes Moonlight code and GameSphere changes together.
GNU GPL-3.0 (Moonlight and corresponding source)
Moonlight is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. Because GameSphere links that code into one app, the corresponding source for the version you received (Moonlight + GameSphere changes in that binary) is offered here:
https://github.com/trevlars/GameSphere-Source/releases
In-app: Settings → Source code (GPL-3.0) and Settings → Legal → Licenses.
Under GPL-3.0 you may use, modify, and redistribute that source. Derivative works must remain GPL-3.0 and include a source offer. Selling the app / IAP is allowed; GPL is about freedom to share source, not a ban on charging.
The development repository may stay private. GPL requires source to recipients of the binary, not a public git history.
Compliance checklist (operators)
- Before each App Store / TestFlight build you ship, run
./scripts/create-source-release.sh(repo:Scripts/create-source-release.sh) and uploaddist/GameSphere-source-*.tar.gzto GameSphere-Source tagged to that marketing+build version. - Do not ship a build whose source archive is missing, incomplete, or stripped of GameSphere-only files.
- Keep
LICENSE.txt(GPL-3.0) in the tree. Do not relicense the combined work as proprietary.
Risks (read this)
| Risk | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Copyleft on the whole app | GameSphere custom UI, IAP, voice, Companion protocols in the iOS binary are part of the corresponding source. You cannot keep those files closed for App Store recipients. |
| App Store + GPL tension | Apple’s Standard EULA and GPL both apply to different layers. Recipients get Apple’s license for the MAS/iOS copy and GPL rights in the published source tarball. This is the same posture Moonlight iOS used; it is not legal advice. |
| Missing source release | Shipping a paid build without a matching source archive is a GPL violation risk. Treat the source upload as a release gate. |
| Secrets | Source archives must exclude SteamWebAPI.apikey, SteamGridDB.apikey, scripts/asc.env, and signing material. |
| Companion Tool | Separate desktop program, not linked into the iOS binary. Its license is whatever that repo ships; it is not automatically GPL’d by the iOS fork unless it contains Moonlight code (it should not). |
Other libraries in the client
Attributions also appear in Settings → Licenses & credits.
| Component | License | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Moonlight / moonlight-common-c | GPL-3.0 | Streaming core |
| FFmpeg | LGPL v2.1 | Decode |
| OpenSSL | Apache 2.0 | TLS |
| libopus | BSD | Audio |
| SDL2 | zlib | Input |
| GCDWebServer | (see GCDWebServer/LICENSE) | Local HTTP helpers where used |
| IGDB | service ToS | Metadata / art |
| Steam / SteamGridDB / RetroAchievements | their ToS | Optional accounts / art |
| Apple frameworks | Apple | UI, StoreKit, Game Controller |
Trademarks (Apple, Steam, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, IGDB, Sunshine, Apollo, ZeroTier, etc.) belong to their owners. GameSphere™ is used for this streaming client.
No warranty
Open-source components are provided without warranty by their authors. GameSphere is provided “as is.” See Terms of Use.
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