Epic plans to “start developing the Epic Games Store on iOS soon” and launch the store in 2024, thanks to the DMA, after Apple approved its developer account
Epic Games Store just completed theirs. — The Short Version - It's way better than yours. …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the operational step behind Epic’s earlier plan to bring its store and Fortnite to iPhones in the EU. Apple’s developer-account approval turns a regulatory opening into a concrete product-development path.
The subsequent coverage shows the arc moved from planning to a EU iOS store debut with Epic’s own games, while Epic also outlined PC-like 12% terms for its mobile store. That makes this approval consequential as an early test of whether alternative distribution can become commercially viable.
First-order effects
- Epic can begin building its iOS storefront and pursue its 2024 launch target under the DMA framework.
- Apple must accommodate Epic as an approved developer pursuing an alternative iOS distribution route, rather than limiting Epic to the conventional App Store path.
Second-order effects
- Epic’s planned storefront creates a new distribution and commercial-terms option for mobile game publishers, with its later-stated 12% commission serving as a clear benchmark against incumbent store economics.
- Other alternative-store operators and developers gain a practical precedent: the important question shifts from whether an iOS store can be proposed to whether it can be approved, built, and supplied with games.
Third-order effects
- If alternative stores attract enough developers and users, regulated mobile markets could move from a single-store model toward competition over fees, discovery, payment flows, and distribution terms.
- The EU becomes a proving ground for DMA-enforced platform openness; adoption and publisher participation will determine whether the model remains a regional exception or strengthens pressure for similar access elsewhere.
The trend: DMA-driven app-distribution rules are shifting mobile ecosystems from platform-controlled storefronts toward regulated competition among stores and their commercial terms.