Epic is not happy with new App Store rules

Epic Games is not happy with the new rules that Apple has set for the use of the App Store. CEO Tim Sweeney calls the changes “hot garbage,” but he still plans to release the Epic Games Store on iOS.

Epic CEO Sweeney responds to X in a post, the former Twitter, on the changes that Apple made on Thursday. Apple said at the time that it is making several policy changes to the App Store on iOS for European users to comply with the Digital Markets Act. For example, it will be possible to sideload apps, the App Store will make game streaming possible and developers can add alternative in-app payment methods to their apps.

Sweeney, who has been advocating for relaxation on iOS on behalf of Epic for years, calls the new policy ‘hot garbage’ and believes that Apple is engaging in ‘malicious compliance’. According to him, the company follows the rules in such a way that they still do not work well for developers. Under the new rules, developers would still have to choose between exclusivity in the App Store and the rules in place there and a new policy that he says applies “new, again illegal, anti-competitive rules.” He refers to the payment that Apple will now use for sideloaded apps. For apps that are downloaded more than a million times, developers must pay a ‘Core technology’ fee of 50 cents per first installation per year.

Epic nevertheless plans to bring the Epic Games Store to iOS. Epic wants to charge a commission of between zero and twelve percent for this, but Sweeney does not yet provide details.