Aptoide, the popular Google Play alternative for Android devices, is launching a third-party iOS app store in the European Union, the first focused exclusively on games since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules came into effect. EU.
Aptoide iOS Game Store will launch via a closed launch on Thursday, with access initially restricted to users with invite-only access codes. Aptoide says it has a waitlist of 20,000 subscriptions and plans to issue between 500 and 1,000 codes per day, and the limited release will allow the platform to monitor feedback from early users.
The Aptoide iOS store will launch with seven games, a fairly standard set of popular activities like Solitaire, Charades and Mahjong, but the company says the store will eventually “feature content from a variety of developers.” Aptoide claims that “more than 100” iOS developers have expressed interest in the platform and that there are currently 30 offerings in the pipeline.
Unlike Aptoide's other app marketplaces, the iOS store will only focus on games for now, and the company plans to add new games to the store every week after they launch. Paulo Trezentos, CEO of Aptoide, said The edge that the service may be expanded in the future to provide additional content and services.
Notably, Aptoide is also the first third-party iOS marketplace in Europe to launch with an Apple-approved in-app purchasing (IAP) solution, which it will provide to developers via an IAP software development kit.
The company is taking a new approach to offset Apple's 50 cent core technology fee (CTF) for each annual store installation. Instead of being passed on directly to users in the form of a subscription, the cost will be covered by a fee charged to developers for in-app purchases. “This means that IAP-based apps will be preferred on Aptoide iOS,” says Trezentos. “Hopefully, one day the CTF will be waived and we will be able to serve more developers as unit economics change.”
Other alternative iOS app stores that have launched in the EU have established their own paths around the CTF. Setapp currently absorbs the fee, but says it will be included in the Setapp Mobile subscription price in the future. Meanwhile, AltStore PAL covers the fee through an annual subscription of €1.50 (plus tax) to install the app market.
