Apple updates App Store guidelines, allowing game emulators for the first time globally, and letting music streaming apps in the EU link to external websites
After @altstore announces their own third-party App Store, which will be a haven for emulators, Apple changes their rules to allow it. — https://9to5mac.com/... Matt Edwards / @matt@toot.mattedwards.org : Competition works. — Quoting @sandofsky: https://mastodon.social/... #retoot — [image] Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : Apple's latest move is the perfect showcase of why the App Store needed competition, and why regulation matters. — An App Store with game streaming services and support for emulators is *a better App Store*. — Apple is using this opportunity to find out why people might ever want to sideload or jailbreak, and head them off at the pass. … @simonbs@mastodon.social : @rileytestut Jeez, Apple can't even provide alternative marketplaces without doing a bit of sherlocking at the same time, can they? 😂 @rileytestut@mastodon.social : it's almost like competition can pressure Apple to change their rules after all! https://www.macrumors.com/... Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : I hope Apple's new stance on allowing emulators in the App Store is a step along the way to providing full virtualization support on iOS/iPadOS 👀 Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith … : @rileytestut Apple is trying to kill your primary reason for developing AltStore 😂 @rileytestut@mastodon.social : but also wow I did NOT see this one coming! No matter what, emulators being allowed in the App Store is clearly better for everyone 🥳 @zmk@snailedit.social : These rule changes seem targeted specifically at Spotify and @rileytestut and basically nobody else 🙃 — [image] X: Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : Spotify has gained zero mileage from its EU antitrust complaint, and they've actually been complaining publicly about Apple's rules for about a decade. A lot of people totally overestimated the significance of that US$2B decision last month, only $45M of which was case-specific. Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Apple is opening up the App Store to retro game emulators. Emulators will need to comply with “all applicable laws,” but it looks like the iPhone is about to get a bunch of game emulators 🥳 https://www.theverge.com/... Brad Lynch / @sadlyitsbradley : I never would have thought that Apple, of all companies, would try to strong arm emulator acceptance in 2024... Brad Lynch / @sadlyitsbradley : Wow. Huh. What is going on over at Apple recently? First cloud gaming apps allowance, and now this...? @dylanmcd8 : Awesome change to the App Review Guidelines today!! Retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games! [image] Forums: r/Piracy : App Store guidelines now allow game emulators r/gamernews : Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators r/gaming : Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators r/nintendo : Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators r/macgaming : Apple App Store guidelines updated; emulators now permitted r/iphone : App Store guidelines now allow game emulators; more r/SBCGaming : App Store guidelines now allow game emulators r/technews : Apple Updates App Store Guidelines to Permit Game Emulators, Website Links in EU Music Apps r/apple : App Store guidelines now allow game emulators; music apps in the EU can take users to an external website r/Delta_Emulator : Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators r/Games : Apple to allow game emulators on iOS App Store r/emulation : Apple App Store guidelines updated; emulators now permitted r/jailbreak : Apple will allow emulatares on the App Store MacRumors Forums : Apple Updates App Store Guidelines to Permit Game Emulators, Website Links in EU Music Apps
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had already outlined an EU-specific alternative-store framework, including a per-install Core Technology Fee, in its response to the DMA. This update broadens one category of App Store access globally while loosening a separate EU restriction on music-streaming apps.
AltStore's planned third-party store supplied an immediate competitive backdrop. The shift matters because it tests whether a more contestable iOS distribution model changes Apple’s rules beyond the EU-specific framework.
First-order effects
- Emulator developers can now seek App Store distribution worldwide, subject to Apple’s rules and applicable law; iPhone users gain a mainstream channel for those apps.
- EU music-streaming apps may direct users to external websites, giving them a permitted route to communicate options beyond Apple’s in-app purchase flow.
Second-order effects
- AltStore and other prospective EU storefronts face a less exclusive emulator proposition after Apple opened the category on its own store, though alternative stores can still compete on distribution and app selection.
- Music-streaming developers can reassess how they present subscriptions in the EU, while Apple must apply the new link-out allowance consistently across eligible apps.
Third-order effects
- If rule changes continue to follow credible alternative-distribution pressure, iOS gatekeeping may become more contestable even where Apple retains platform review and distribution control.
- The later reports of delayed notarization for some alternative-store apps show that formal permission alone may not settle access; implementation decisions can determine how open the market becomes.
The trend: This is a data point in the shift from a single, tightly controlled mobile app marketplace toward regulated and competitively contestable distribution rules.