Today, there are more developments in the ongoing battle between Apple and some of its biggest rivals in the App Store. First, in a new amicus brief filed today in the United States, Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group joined forces to oppose Apple’s proposed anti-governance changes in the United States.
Meanwhile, Epic Games has shared more details about its plans to launch its own iPhone app marketplace in the European Union. The company says it will take a 12% commission on sales…
In the United States of America
As a result of a legal battle with Epic Games in the United States, Apple was forced to relax its anti-governance rules that previously prohibited developers from connecting to alternative payment systems in their apps.
However, as part of its plan, Apple said it will continue to charge commission on purchases made through alternative payment platforms. This commission is 12% for developers who are members of the App Store Small Business program and 27% for other applications.
Epic Games has already expressed its opposition to Apple’s implementation of the anti-governance changes, urging the court to hold Apple in contempt.
In a new amicus brief filed with the court today, Meta, Microsoft, X and Match Group have now made it official that they do not believe Apple is complying with the order. The Verge explains:
Friends say Apple’s 12 to 27 percent fee on third-party purchases defeats the purpose of the new requirement since it’s just a few percentage points below what developers would normally have to pay for in-app purchases. An external purchase fee could make it unrealistic for developers to even set up an external payment system, given that the other transaction costs they might incur that way could eliminate any of the 3 percent gain they’d get from moving away from Apple’s system. Additionally, customers are unlikely to choose an outside option if the price is the same or higher.
In the European Union
Meanwhile, across the pond, Epic has revealed a few additional details about its upcoming Epic Games app store in the European Union. As part of today’s Game Developers Conference, the company revealed that it hopes to launch its Epic Games Store for iPhone and Android in the EU by the end of the year.
Epic says that terms for developers will be the same through the Epic Games Store on mobile as they are on the Epic Games Store on PC. As such, the company will take a 12% commission on all sales through the Epic Games Store. Revenue share is 100% for the developer during the first six months in the Epic Games Store.
The Epic Games Store will feature Epic’s own content, including Fortnite, along with a selection of third-party partners. The company says it will share additional details ahead of the launch later this year.
Finally, we shared more about our plans to bring the Epic Games Store (EGS) to mobile later this year. EGS will become the first multi-platform store focused on games and will work on Android, iOS, PC and macOS. Mobile developers will benefit from the same fair terms as EGS for PC: 88/12 revenue share and the same programs you can take advantage of to keep 100% of the revenue using your own payments for in-app purchases, Epic First Run and Now On Epic .
And more details from an Epic spokesperson:
“Epic Games Store has an 88/12 revenue split for developers who distribute paid apps on PC and Mac, and this will continue on mobile platforms. Developers don’t pay Epic anything to distribute free apps. If developers offer in-app purchases, they can choose to either use our payment processing system with an 88/12 revenue share or use a third-party payment processor and keep 100% of that revenue, just like they do today.”
As part of its EU changes for DMA, Apple announced a reduced commission structure in January. For developers who accept the new terms, they will pay 17% plus 3% if the apps use Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Small business software developers will pay a 10% commission, plus 3%, a drop from 15%.
There’s also the Core Technology Fee, which charges €0.50 per annual install, for apps that are popular enough to move more than a million units per year. Apple estimates that less than 1% of developers will pay CTF.
Developers in the EU can also choose to adhere to the existing terms of the App Store, where the commission is 30% for large developers or 15% for developers earning less than $1 million per year.
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