For the first time since its debut in 2008, the App Store will finally allow retro game emulators on the marketplace.
In a recent update, the Cupertino-based company announced that both game emulators and downloadable retro games will become globally available on the App Store. However, Apple stated that these games must comply with “all applicable laws”, which indicates that pirated titles will still get banned.
Conversely, Google’s Android operating system has been open source from the get-go. Developers whose apps sit on the Play Store will be able to migrate their software over to the App Store.
Over the years, the only way to get such third-party applications onto iPhone is via workarounds such as jailbreaking. They also represent one of the key reasons that iPhone owners in the European Union may start using third-party app stores now that they have been permitted in the region.
Alongside new rules on emulators, Apple also updated rules around mega apps like WeChat, requiring that mini-games within such software must use HTML5 and not be native.
The change is in response to the antitrust lawsuit filed in the United States that accused Apple of trying to ban cloud game streaming apps and super apps. Recently, however, Apple started permitting streaming services such as GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming onto the App Store.
Outside of the United States, Apple is finding ways to respond to the European Commission’s increasing pressure. For instance, the company also said recently that it will start to allow music streaming apps in the EU to include in-app links that point users toward outside purchases and mention pricing info.
Developers will also be allowed to “invite users to provide their email address for the express purpose of sending them a link to the developer’s website to purchase digital music content or services.”
In response to the Commission declaring Apple’s anti-steering rules “illegal”, Spotify tried updating its app with links to its website for subscription purposes, but it did not receive approval from Apple for weeks. Spotify is not happy with Apple’s most recent changes, yet Apple is still making plans to charge commissions on purchases made through outside links in spite of the requirement to allow music streaming apps to communicate “freely” with users.
Jeanne Moran, a spokesperson for Spotify, told The Verge that “following the law is not optional, but Apple continues to defy that decision.”
