Apple recently changed its rules about retro game emulators on the App Store, and last week the first ones became available — including the iGBA Gameboy emulator. Unfortunately, the iGBA has since been removed due to spam and copyright infringement.
While some may cry that this is Apple limiting emulation, despite promises to the contrary, there seems to be a good reason why Apple has retired the iGBA. Primarily because it was accused of copying an existing Gameboy emulator for iOS and then cramming the app with ads and tracking.
Riley Testut, the developer of GBA4iOS and its successor Delta Emulator, accused the iGBA of being “a concoction of GBA4iOS”. They didn’t give anyone permission to do this, but someone submitted an app that, in Testuto’s own words, is “full of advertising + tracking”.
Testut says they’re not mad at the iGBA developer, but they’re upset that Apple went to the trouble of changing the rules surrounding emulation and continued to approve a fake app. This is despite the fact that App Store apps have to go through Apple’s review process, which is supposed to prevent this sort of thing.
The review process is what Apple likes to lean on when lobbying against sideloading and third-party app stores, claiming it ensures the safety and security of the App Store and Apple’s customers.
This is despite the fact that there are numerous high-profile examples of malicious applications that pass inspection without issue. Apparently the iGBA is the latest example of failure to act.
There have been concerns about how Apple will treat emulators in the App Store. Developers noted that Apple’s T&Cs say that developers are responsible for ensuring that emulators comply with Apple’s guidelines and don’t break the law – lest they be rejected. The vagueness of this, combined with the fact that emulation is something of a legal gray area, doesn’t inspire confidence that Apple won’t continue to keep iOS an emulation-free zone.
It is not clear if the iGBA was removed because of the GBA4iOS violation or if there was some other reason. Given Nintendo’s history of litigation against anyone trying to profit from emulation or any other projects that infringe on its copyrights and IP, there’s always the possibility that Nintendo asked for the iGBA to be removed. It’s also possible that Apple saw that a mistake was made and proactively removed the app to avoid future problems.
While opening the App Store for emulation may be considered a good thing, it will lead to problems. Whether it’s cloned apps with questionable ads and tracking, potential takedowns from rights holders, or something else entirely. Hopefully we’re just facing an initial rush, as developers try to take advantage of the fact that emulation is now allowed, and things will settle down in the near future.