Supercell will soon be bringing their puzzle battler Clash Royale to their online store, according to a recent update listing the game as “coming soon.”
The online store allows players to make game purchases directly through the web rather than in-app, with deals and bundles available to incentivise purchases directly from Supercell themselves. The store already boasts many of Supercell’s most famous titles, such as Brawl Stars and Clash of Clans.
Webstores such as Supercell’s bypass the fees charged on many app storefronts, such as the 30% cut taken by Apple (with Google following suit) which sparked a legal battle between the App Store giant and Epic Games when the latter began offering direct purchases through their app in order to bypass the fee. The benefits to developers and publishers is more money upfront, while incentivising players with discounts and other offers.
Every little helps
The addition of Clash Royale both cements its place as one of Supercell’s main lineup, as well as indicating their continued investment into the webstore as an alternate means of purchase. It also shows continued interest from developers and publishers in using their own storefronts for game purchases, a major shift since the Epic Vs Apple battle that saw the former lose out. However, it also resulted in Apple being ordered to remove anti-steering policies that barred developers from directing players to alternate stores for purchases.
Indirectly, the Epic Vs Apple legal battle has arguably led to web stores like Supercell’s becoming much more feasible. As anti-trust legislation is now more widely discussed in both the EU and US, with Apple embroiled in a continuing battle to put a stay on legislation that would mandate side-loading, even as it prepares to allow alternative storefronts onto its app ecosystem.
It all represents a major change, but even as companies like Apple are forced to open up, the hangover from major changes such as IDFA and the ensuing “adpocalypse” are yet to fully leave the industry.
