Dispute over in-app purchases: Emulator Delta makes fun of Apple's rules

The popular Gameboy emulator Delta, which is distributed via the App Store, now offers additional functions that can be unlocked by purchasing them on the web – Apple strictly forbade this for a long time. The US version of the Delta app integrates a link that leads to the developer's Patreon account in the browser. Anyone who takes out a supporter subscription there receives additional functions in the emulator, including the online multiplayer mode for Nintento-DS games. Previously, it was not even permitted to mention the Patreon account in the app, according to the developer.

Regulators enforce external purchase option

Delta uses Apple's interface for "External Purchases". The company had to set this up under pressure from regulators in various regions, who classified the silence requirements for developers and the ban on links to external offers as anti-competitive. In the USA, Apple released these external purchase options at the beginning of the year following a ruling by a US court in the major antitrust dispute with Epic Games.

Delta is also using the integration to demonstrate Apple's continuing obstacles: He didn't come up with the strangely generic link description himself, the developer explained on Mastodon. Apple has a precise language rule for this. If users click on the link, the app must also display a full-screen warning prescribed by Apple. The dialog warns against online purchases, stating that Apple is not responsible for the "privacy and security of online purchases".

If the external purchase option is offered, it must also be available as an in-app purchase, according to another Apple regulation. To deter users from making in-app purchases, the Delta developer has now tripled the prices. This is "a terrible deal. Don't buy!", he writes.

Apple also wants commission for web purchases

Apple also charges a commission of up to 27 percent for external purchases on the web. This only applies if customers complete the Patreon subscription within seven days of clicking on the link in the app, explains the Delta developer. Ultimately, he doesn't care, but the commission can be avoided if users take out the subscription directly on Patreon without following the link in the app.

Delta is backed by the same developer who launched AltStore PAL, the first alternative app store for iPhones in the EU, in April. The project was primarily intended to make it easier to install the emulator on iOS devices, which had previously been banned by Apple. Apple then quickly lifted the ban on emulators. Delta is distributed via the AltStore in the EU, but via the App Store in other regions such as the USA.

Apple's in-app purchase requirements and commission have been the subject of dispute for years. Major app providers have started to either remove Apple's in-app purchase interface from the app altogether or pass the commission on to users –. Purchases in the app are then more expensive.

(lbe)