Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, and Spotify are testing the waters of Apple’s new App Store rules by submitting app updates that would have been rejected in the past. On Friday, both companies sent new versions of their apps to Apple for review.
For Epic Games, this could mean Fortnite’s return to the App Store. The game was taken down in 2020 after Epic challenged Apple’s policies by introducing a direct payment option in Fortnite. This move led to Apple banning Epic’s account and sparked an antitrust lawsuit.
On the other hand, Spotify is aiming to allow its users purchase individual audiobooks directly through the app. Additionally, Premium subscribers will have the option to buy extra hours for audiobook listening if they exceed the 15 free hours provided each month.
This update from Spotify comes just after Apple approved a new feature for the Amazon Kindle app, which now includes a “Buy Book” button for the first time. It also follows last week’s approval that allowed Spotify to show U.S. users pricing details for its subscription plans right within the app.
Eventually, other applications may also follow in the footsteps of Epic Games and Spotify to get benefits from the recently implemented App Store Regulations.
The App Store policy change mandated by the judge in the lawsuit is seen by tech giants like Epic Games and Spotify as a means of increasing profit. However, for smaller developers, this move could potentially hinder their ability to exist at all, as it opens doors for new business models to thrive.
Last week, Apple implemented the revised App Store regulations following a significant defeat in the antitrust lawsuit brought by Epic Games. The federal judge had found that Apple had not complied with the court’s instructions regarding in-app transactions. While Apple mostly won the lawsuits, the judge advised them to enhance their competitiveness in the terms of payment processing.
Apple has changed the way developers can connect their apps to external payment options. Instead of letting developers freely link to their websites for payments on things like virtual goods or subscriptions, Apple now requires them to get special permission first. If developers do receive this approval, they must also follow specific guidelines on how to display these links in their apps. This includes creating “Scare screens” that warn users about the risks of making purchases outside of Apple’s ecosystem.
Primarily, Apple was still imposing a substantial commission of 27% on those online purchases, which is a decrease from the previous rate of 30%.
The judge’s intentions were not aligned with those actions, ultimately leading Apple to eliminate its unfair barriers and permit developers to directly link to web purchase options, without any extra obstacles or fees involved.
