Apple's new EU terms cut fees for alternative iOS app stores, but their share remains tiny

Lower commissions and cheaper acquisition give game studios a basis to test channels beside the App Store, though it is unclear whether fees alone will win users.

Apple's revised business terms for the European Union took effect on October 1, replacing the Core Technology Fee with a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital sales made through alternative app stores and web distribution. Under the old model, developers paid €0.50 for every first annual install above one million, a cost that made testing alternative channels hard for larger publishers, so the switch gives studios a clearer basis to weigh that route. Alternative stores still hold well under 1% of iOS app distribution, two years after the Digital Markets Act opened iPhone users in the EU to downloads from outside the App Store. For game studios, the author argues there are two levers worth testing next to the App Store: cheaper user acquisition by routing web traffic to installs, and a lower commission than Apple's 26% on in-app purchases. Whether lower fees are enough to grow alternative stores' share remains an open question.