Thanks to the EC’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple must allow third-party app storefronts to find a home inside iOS in the EU. As recently as yesterday, Epic complained that Apple had twice rejected its submission to add the Epic Games Store to the iPhone in the 27 EU member countries. Epic stated that Apple’s decision was “arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation” of the DMA. However, Apple has pulled a 180-degree reversal and has reportedly approved the addition of the Epic Game Store to iOS.
Earlier reports noted that Apple believed that Epic was for the most part compliant with the EU guidelines except for the placement of certain buttons that could be confusing to consumers. Developers are prohibited from adding buttons to apps that could lead users to believe that certain elements in the app were made by Apple. Epic said that it has used the same button layout in other platforms and followed “standard conventions” for iOS buttons.
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Epic still needs to finish work on the back end of its app although previously it did say that it was only a couple of months away from having its app added to iOS. Apple’s about-face should only make things easier for Epic to reach its goal.
