Apple intends to split the App Store division into two parts: one part of the employees will continue to manage the application store in its previous form, and the second will work on the project of alternative platforms that have begun to open in the European Union. Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman reported this.
In the wake of the reorganization, current App Store vice president Matt Fischer, who has held this position for more than ten years, will leave Apple altogether. “I have been thinking about this for some time, and with the department reorganizing to better address new challenges and opportunities, now is the right time to pass the torch to two outstanding leaders on my team,” Fisher said in a letter to employees.
The App Store division will now be overseen by Carson Oliver, and the alternative distribution department will be headed by Ann Thai, the company’s chief product officer. Both divisions will be overseen by the head of the App Store, Phil Schiller. Apple was forced to create a new division due to the fact that European officials demanded that the company allow the use of alternative payment systems in software products and stop preventing the launch of alternative application stores.
Last week, the mobile Epic Games Store, a game store on iOS, launched in Europe, and Fortnite returned to the platform. Other iPhone app stores have also emerged in the region, including AltStore PAL, Mobivention and Aptoid.