With new EU rules against anti-competitive practices looming, Apple has announced it'll soon be allowing developers to release Game-Pass-style catalog apps, containing multiple playable and streamable games and programs, onto its official App Store.
Apple announcement says these new catalog-style apps can include “streaming games, mini-apps, mini-games, chatbots, and plug-ins”, and notes developers “will be able to” incorporate its In-App Purchase system to offer users paid digital content or services “such as a subscription for an individual chatbot.”
Its initial announcement doesn't highlight the cut Apple will be expecting from these new style of apps (currently it charges developers a 30% fee for paid apps and in-app purchases) – or if the use of its In-App Purchase system is mandatory – but it'll likely get into the specifics soon.
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Apple says these new host apps must adhere to “all App Store Review Guidelines” and must maintain an age rating based on the highest age-rated content contained within. It adds that it's implementing the changes to “reflect feedback from Apple's developer community and is consistent with the App Store's mission to provide a trusted place for users to find apps they love and developers everywhere with new capabilities to grow their businesses.”
It's almost certainly not a coincidence, however, that Apple will, from this March, need to comply with new rules under the EU's Digital Markets Act, which, among other things, requires it – and other big tech companies – to open up mobile platforms to app stores owned and operated by other companies. Presumably, this is Apple's attempt to make using its own App Store – which already has a massive userbase – a more attractive option.
Microsoft has already confirmed it's looking to take advantage of the EU's new rules by implementing its own iOS store. Notably, the company's attempt to put Project xCloud on iOS – giving access to its catalog of Game Pass games via streaming – was blocked by Apple in 2020. At the time, Apple insisted the kind of “catalogue” app Microsoft was attempting to submit – and which it is now explicitly permitting – was inappropriate as all games must be submitted individually for review to ensure the App Store a remained “safe and trusted place for customers”. Many suggested the complexity of taking its cut from these kinds of apps might have influenced Apple decision at the time.
Other companies – likely including Epic Games, which has been a vocal critic of Apple's App Store rules in the last few years – will no doubt have their own external App Store plans in the works ahead of the EU's new rules. However, a recent report by The Wall Street Journal has suggested Apple is currently formulating plans that will give it the power to review all apps and collect fees on all apps downloaded outside the App Store.
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