Epic Games Store will soon charge through Apple’s efforts to mitigate the downloading of apps from third-party marketplaces to iOS and iPadOS — namely, Apple’s Core Technology Fee. Epic will add 20 third-party titles to its mobile store in the European Union, the region impacted by the fee policy, and it’ll pay the fees in full for one year. The policy dictates that Apple charge a steep per-download fee — 50 cents in Euros — for every download of a game from a third-party store after 1 million downloads. Epic will also offer free games each month, as reported by The Verge.
Epic launched its mobile store for Apple and Android in August 2024, with the Apple store only available in the EU due to the Digital Markets Act there, which prevents monopoly by enforcing market competition. Other publishers and marketplaces, like Steam and PlayStation, are able to list their apps on the Apple App Store because the apps don’t include any downloading of games via their apps — rather, some apps allow you to stream your games from the cloud and others function solely as a way to manage other assets from your account, like screenshots. It’s not just Apple that seeks to lock down app sales — Epic Games Store also doesn’t meet the requirements for Google’s Play Store in the U.S.
The Verge also reported that Epic’s statements in a Thursday press briefing argued “many mobile game developers aren’t on its store because Apple and Google discourage them with restrictions and fees.”
As for the 20 new third-party games, we still don’t know what they’ll be. A post on Epic’s X (formerly Twitter) account said it’s run into “a few bugs that we’re working through now.” Epic’s statements do, however, insinuate that the third-party games will be available to mobile app users in any region where the mobile app exists.
Polygon has contacted Epic Games Store and Apple for comment and clarification and has not yet heard back. We’ll update the story when we learn more.
Source：https://www.polygon.com/news/513088/epic-games-store-20-third-party-games-apple-app-store-core-technology-fee
