In a rather surprising turn of events, Apple this week updated its App Review Guidelines to allow retro game emulators in the App Store. Unlike many recent iOS changes, this change will not be limited to Europe. In the coming days and weeks, developers around the world will be able to legally run their emulators on the App Store.
Here’s what the App Review Guidelines say about retro game emulators as of this week:
Apps may offer certain software that is not embedded in the binary, especially HTML5 mini-apps and mini-games, streaming games, chatbots, and plug-ins. Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer game downloads.
Emulator apps were banned from Apple’s App Store for years, and any that managed to slip through the certification process were quickly removed. If you wanted to play an emulated game on your iPhone or iPad, you had to find a workaround or jailbreak your device, both of which require too much effort for the average user.
As The Verge notes, these rule changes appear to be in response to an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice. The lawsuit accuses Apple of blocking game-streaming apps like GeForce Now and says “super apps with mini-programs would threaten its monopoly,” referring to apps with a variety of features, services and capabilities.
The Verge he also points out that many of the third-party app stores that Apple will have to allow on its devices in Europe will offer game emulators. In fact, I’d say that might be the primary appeal of a third-party app store for a significant portion of the audience. Instead of giving these stores an easy win, why not just take Google Play’s lead and allow apps?
I’ll personally be keeping an eye out for Riley Testut’s Delta Emulator, which is one of the most feature-rich and impressive mobile emulators on the market. Currently, the only way to access the app is through a fairly complex process, but it will be on my iPhone in no time if Apple allows Testuto to make the app available in the App Store.