Apple has announced a new set of EU App Store terms that include tweaked commission fees on every flavour of payment type.
Then have been designed to “resolve Apple’s disagreements with the [EU] Commission over business terms and alternative distribution,” the iPhone maker said in a blog today.
They go into effect on October 1 and are a little less complicated than the previous fee structure which was widely criticised for being deliberately complex. One payment provider said that “Apple views developers as nothing more than thieves”
The new EU terms mean that apps and games using Apple’s native IAPs will be subject to a 26% commission.
Games using alternative payment processing must give Apple a 20% cut of IAPs, while games that link out of the app to complete purchases get slapped with a 15% fee. For apps and games downloaded through alternative app marketplaces or the web, Apple charges a 5% commission.
Smaller developers using the native IAP system, which Apple says is the vast majority, will be subject to a 15% commission. Studios enrolled in certain small business and video programs plus those using alternative payments and stores will see fees drop to 10%.
Alternative payments can also now be displayed alongside Apple’s own IAPs for the first time in the EU, though this is “subject to presentation requirements designed to give users a consistent, transparent experience,” says Apple.
There’s also a new set of hurdles to clear for alternative app stores, which must meet a “financial stability bar”, be a publicly traded company or owned by one, have VC funding from an established firm and have completed an audit by a licensed accountant. Government entities, educational institutions and nonprofits are also allowed.
Every app to be distributed through an alternative App Store must also be notarized by Apple, which is a “baseline review focused on basic functionality and protection from serious threats,” the company said.
Apps and games in the Kids category and those for under 13s will not be allowed to carry alternative payments or link-outs for safety reasons, said Apple. And any app or game for under 18s will now have a parental gating and approval system as well.
There’s further rules and regulations on Apple’s official support page.
Update: 19/08/26: Epic Games and Tim Sweeney have, of course, had their say on the revised terms. The Epic Games Newsroom X account described Apple’s App Store commission as “junk fees” and claims that the new terms “do nothing to open up the mobile app ecosystem to competition, as required by Digital Market Act.”
“The law makes it clear that Apple must allow developers to offer link outs to the web for purchases “free of charge” and has to allow “effective use” of competing stores,” the X post continues. “Apple’s terms deliberately violate the Digital Markets Act. If the Commission accepts the terms and drops their ongoing enforcement actions, the law will become meaningless and consumers and developers will not experience the benefits it was designed to provide.”
Over on Tim Sweeney’s own X account, the Epic Games boss added: “Apple has launched a new junk fee structure in EU, mirroring the terms in Brazil and Japan. They’re still unlawfully charging for linked-out transactions (clearly prohibited by DMA), and add prohibitions and friction to herd kids into high-junk-fee Apple payments.”
