The battle for app store dominance is heating up! Epic Games is making a bold move to challenge Apple's grip on the mobile gaming market by expanding its own mobile store and, crucially, covering specific iOS fees for developers who participate in its free games initiative. This strategic play aims to incentivize developers to embrace alternative app stores and provide a more level playing field.
Sweetening the Deal: Epic's Developer Support
Epic's commitment extends beyond simply launching another app store. It envisions building a unified, cross-platform ecosystem where users can truly own their games and digital items, regardless of where they purchased them. To make this vision a reality, Epic is launching a free games program on mobile, starting with popular titles like Bloons TD 6 and Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee. But there's more...
To further incentivize developers to join its free games program on iOS, Epic will shoulder the burden of Apple's Core Technology Fee (CTF) for a full year. This is a significant financial relief for developers, as the CTF imposes a 50 euro cent charge on every install of an iOS app using third-party stores after it surpasses 1 million annual downloads. Epic's CEO, Tim Sweeney, has been a vocal critic of the CTF, arguing that it stifles competition and makes it difficult for alternative stores to gain traction.
A Call for Regulatory Action
Epic's decision to cover the CTF is not just a gesture of goodwill. It's a strategic move aimed at highlighting what Epic believes is Apple's non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union. Epic hopes the European Commission will investigate these practices and take action to ensure fair competition in the digital marketplace.
"We won’t really have app store freedom, even in Europe, and actual user choice and competition, unless the DMA is robustly enforced." - Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games
The Long Fight for App Store Freedom
This is just the latest chapter in Epic's ongoing battle against Apple and Google over app store policies. Epic has challenged both companies in the US, with limited success. The company's 2020 lawsuit against Apple marked a pivotal moment in the debate over app store fees and restrictions. Sweeney anticipates this fight will continue for years to come and believes a robust enforcement of the DMA is essential to ensure real competition and user choice in the mobile app ecosystem.
