The industry reacts to landmark ruling against Apple’s App Store payment policy

The US court has ruled that app publishers can now direct users to alterative payment methods outside of the Apple App Store. This makes it possible for them to challenge the tech giant’s 30% ‘Apple Tax.’

To better understand the implications of the decision, we reached out to industry experts to get their take on what this could do for the future of mobile games and distribution.

The recent Apple vs. Epic ruling marks a meaningful shift in the mobile app ecosystem.

By requiring Apple to let developers direct users to alternative payment methods, the decision challenges Apple’s 30% App Store commission – a cut that has long frustrated developers.

According to Sensor Tower, global consumer spending on mobile apps hit $171 billion in 2023, meaning even a small shift in payment flows could unlock billions in additional revenue for developers.

From a venture capitalist’s perspective, this creates a stronger investment case for mobile startups: thinner platform fees can accelerate profitability and improve unit economics. Notably, games account for over 60% of global app store revenue, so the gaming sector stands to gain disproportionately.

On a broader level, the ruling pushes the industry toward a more open and competitive ecosystem. A survey by PocketGamer.biz found that 42% of developers believe platform fees are the biggest barrier to growth – meaning this ruling directly addresses a major pain point.

Finally, this may signal the start of global regulatory momentum. In markets like the EU and South Korea, similar policies are already being pushed, setting the stage for a worldwide recalibration of platform-developer dynamics.

John Wright

Vice President, Mobile Publishing

at Kwalee

This is the decision we needed to solidify the action in Europe through the DMA, this will create a wave of additional interest from developers who previously were on the fence. The time to implement this strategy is now.

Louise Wooldridge

Research Manager – Games

at Ampere Analysis

This is huge news for developers and players alike. Smaller or indie developers, in particular, will benefit from not having to give away an extra 30% of their revenue – although a payment processor will still be necessary for web purchases, which will charge a more modest fee on each transaction. 

There are also many services and platforms which charge extra on iOS thanks to Apple’s commission, such as YouTube, Twitch and Spotify, which may also now benefit from being able to monetise consumers directly via their own apps or web stores at cheaper rates.

The reintroduction of Fortnite to the App Store will mean a reduction in traffic for other services where players have been accessing the game, like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia’s GeForce NOW – so perhaps a bit of a minor blow for cloud gaming.

This ruling does set a precedent, and will give Epic or any other company the ammunition to face other dominant platform holders in court. So it’s likely we could see similar cases in the future, and a shift in app store policies and revenue sharing models more broadly.

Will Luton

Founder/CPO Village Studio Games

It’s great that the court has ruled this way. But I think this is just one point in what will be a marathon between devs and Apple, where devs are fighting to regain control and ownership while Apple attempts to hold on to it by frustrating the user experience, outright banning and the like.

It’ll be something of a cat-and-mouse game. But it’s abundantly evident that platform holders wield too much power and that the freedom to distribute and bill now outweighs Apple’s right to exploit their platform.

Oscar Clark

Chief Strategy Officer

at Fundamentally Games

The judgement that Apple must allow publishers to freely link to alternative payment systems outside the App Store without taking royalties in the US effective immediately is quite literally game changing.

It will create huge opportunities for developers, publishers and third party digital retailers, but with such “great power comes great responsibility”. I’ve long advocated for the platforms as the retailer to take responsibility for “Know Your Customer” for things like confirming a user is actually over 18.

It’s my belief that it’s a huge burden (and barrier to entry) for smaller developers to be responsible for that – not least as to do it properly requires access to personal data and hence creates a massive risk if everyone has to do it.

There is also the question about how this will affect distribution more generally Apple/Android (and even Steam/Xbox/PSN) stores provide a centralized place for players to know that they can find “all the content they want” for their device. How will the inability to enforce charges affect the way these platforms run their stores? Will it mean that they find other ways to prioritise editorial games which don’t offer such external links?  

That being said, this will be a massive boon to folks like Xsolla, Epic and Stash.gg, and I suspect it will lead to the rise of new cross-platform mega retail brands built around communities.   

Overall I think this is an explosive result, and with the Digital Markets Act it isn’t just a US change. There is a bright opportunity here for the right players but game developers have to be careful not to get burned and to be aware of what might be hiding in the shadows.