After the introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union, Apple must allow third-party providers to set up their own app stores for the first time. The first companies that want to implement this include Setapp, the German provider Mobivention (as a service provider for other companies) and especially Epic Games – the game manufacturer that has been in a legal dispute with Apple over App Store commissions and others for several years Contract details are located. Now it has become known for the first time what Epic Games itself would like from developers if they use its new “Alternative App Marketplace” on the iPhone. However, this tariff is not really cheap – Apple may only be slightly more expensive.
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Not very far from Apple
The so-called Epic Games Store on iPhone is scheduled to launch in the EU this year. As Epic announced as part of its “State of Unreal” at GDC 2024, the company would like a 12 percent commission, so it pays developers 88 percent if they use Epic's payment service. That, in turn, is only 1 percent less than the rate that Apple would like to have as part of its “alternative terms” that developers in the EU can choose in the future: together with a payment service fee of 3 percent, it will be 13 percent in the future.
However, the amount only applies if a developer earns less than one million US dollars per year (“Small Business Program”). If the turnover exceeds this, 20 percent (including a 3 percent payment fee) is due. The “Core Technology Fee” (CTF) for the use of Apple's platform may be added at 50 cents per installation, but only for one million installs per year (or the first redownloads or updates). The CTF is also due in the Epic Games Store, as it applies to all developers who want to use the “Alternative Terms”.
Alternative payment provider
The “fair conditions” called for by Epic correspond to those that the gaming company already offers for the PC version of the Epic Games Store. Epic does not want to earn money from in-app sales – at least for its “Epic First Run” and “Now on Epic” programs and/or if developers use their own payment provider. Epic should not charge for free apps.
It is still unclear exactly when the Epic Games Store will launch on the iPhone. Most recently, Apple briefly blocked the company's developer account in the EU, but then reversed this.
(bsc)