Apple has updated its App Review Guidelines to comply with the landmark Epic Vs Apple ruling.
The changes apply to the US storefront only, and are live and effective immediately. The changes effectively mean developers are free to bounce players over to any alternative payment provider they please, without restrictions or ‘scare screens’.
There’s already plenty of speculation on how developers might capitalise – one suggestion is simply offering an in-app payment button using a web-based payments firm like Stripe through Apple Pay.
Developers could also potentially hide the native IAPs entirely and point players to the web for all purchases. We’ll see how far developers can push the new guidelines in the coming days and weeks.
Here’s what the tweaked guidelines say, as reported by 9to5Mac:
- 3.1.1: Apps on the United States storefront are not prohibited from including buttons, external links, or other calls to action when allowing users to browse NFT collections owned by others.
- 3.1.1(a): On the United States storefront, there is no prohibition on an app including buttons, external links, or other calls to action, and no entitlement is required to do so.
- 3.1.3: The prohibition on encouraging users to use a purchasing method other than in-app purchase does not apply on the United States storefront.
- 3.1.3(a): The External Link Account entitlement is not required for apps on the United States storefront to include buttons, external links, or other calls to action.
Apple CEO Tim Cook made brief reference to the Epic vs Apple ruling in its latest earnings call last night. “The case yesterday, we strongly disagree with,” said Cook. “We’ve complied with the court’s order and we’re going to appeal.”
The tech giant reported an all-time services revenue record of $26.6bn for Q2 25, up 12% from a year ago. A large chunk of that Services revenue will be App Store income – but we may see that drop next quarter as developers increasingly move US spenders off-platform.
Spotify already announced that it has submitted a new update to its app that offers link-outs to web payments and other improvements. Expect other major players to do the same in the coming days and weeks.
