Epic Games and Spotify Challenge Apple’s Updated App Store Regulations

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Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, and Spotify are testing the waters of Apple’s updated App Store policies by submitting app revisions that would have previously been prohibited. Last Friday, both entities presented new versions of their apps for Apple’s review process.

For Epic Games, this could signal the revival of Fortnite on the App Store. In 2020, Apple removed the game and deactivated Epic’s account after the company defied App Store regulations by introducing direct payment options in Fortnite, leading to their antitrust lawsuit against Apple.

As for Spotify, the company aims to empower its users to purchase individual audiobooks directly and enable Premium subscribers to acquire additional hours for audiobook listening. These hours can be bought once subscribers exceed the 15 free hours they receive monthly.

This latest update from Spotify follows Apple’s recent approval of the Amazon Kindle app, which introduced a “Buy Book” button for the first time. It also comes after Spotify was granted approval the previous week, allowing U.S. users to view pricing information for its subscription plans within the app, among other enhancements.

In the future, it is likely that more developers will join Epic Games and Spotify in capitalizing on the reformed App Store policies.

For major tech firms like Epic and Spotify, the alteration in App Store policy mandated by the court is mainly about enhancing their profit margins. However, it could also significantly affect smaller developers’ sustainability by enabling new business models to emerge.

The revised App Store policies were implemented last week following Apple’s loss in a significant legal confrontation stemming from the antitrust case initiated by Epic Games, during which a federal judge ruled that Apple had not complied with prior court directives regarding in-app purchases. Although Apple emerged mostly victorious, the judge instructed the company to adopt a more competitive stance with regard to payment processing.

Previously, Apple required developers to seek permission before enabling links to their websites for offering alternative payment methods for virtual goods or subscriptions. If permission was granted, developers had to conform to Apple’s specifications for link presentation, including “warning screens” to caution users about the risks associated with transactions made outside of Apple’s ecosystem.

Most critically, Apple continued to impose a significant commission of 27% on these web-based sales, reduced from 30% prior to the adjustments.

This was not in line with the judge’s expectations, leading to the mandate for Apple to dismantle its anticompetitive obstacles, allowing developers to link to web purchase options without further restrictions and without commissions.

Epic Games just scored a major win against Apple

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