Epic Games has launched its app store for EU users, providing developers with an alternative to the Apple App Store. However, Apple’s high fees and conditions again created a problem, calling into question the success of the new store, the benefit of users and game developers.
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Last week, the Epic Games Store opened in Europe thanks to new rules governing iOS. This was a big deal for Epic and their biggest hit, Fortnite. However, Apple’s terms for third-party stores remain so onerous that it is simply unprofitable for many developers to place their apps there, writes The Verge, and therefore it is generally unclear whether the Epic Games Store will be able to expand beyond its own games.
For now, the prospects look vague. As Bob Roberts, Roundguard developer at Wonderbelly Games, notes, “It seems like it’s a losing proposition for everyone: Apple, developers, and consumers. It just makes life more difficult and confusing without improving the situation in the way it was previously thought.”
The problem is that Apple charges significant fees to developers who use alternative stores. In addition to the Epic Games Store’s 12% commission, developers must pay Apple 0.5 euros per app install per user per year after reaching a certain number of downloads. Apple also charges a 10% commission on sales made on any platform, including purchases outside of iOS. And this is in addition to a 5 percent commission on purchases made within a year after installing the application.
«This is unacceptable,” said Steve Allison, head of the Epic Games Store, citing the example of an app with a billion downloads. Even the passive presence of the application on the device of a user who does not purchase anything obliges the developer to pay 0.5 euros for each installation every year.
For Epic Games, with its huge Fortnite user base, these terms may be acceptable. But for smaller developers, they can be ruinous. It is known that Apple offers preferential terms for developers of free applications and small companies, but for others the same rules apply as for giants like Epic Games.
Ellison reported that almost all of the 250 largest mobile developers with whom Epic Games is negotiating said they could not afford to work on iOS under such conditions. Larger publishers such as EA, King, Scopely, Supercell and TiMi have yet to show interest in the Epic Games Store on iOS.
While the launch of the Epic Games Store on iOS is a major step toward greater freedom for developers, Apple remains in control by charging significant fees to both developers who use the App Store and those who try to circumvent it. It’s unclear whether the Epic Games Store on iOS will be a success, or whether anyone will be able to convince Apple to soften its requirements. For now, it appears Apple has no intention of easing its control until it may be forced to do so by circumstances.