Gaming
Eighteen Developer Groups Say Apple's New EU App Store Terms Still Miss the Mark
Apple's latest attempt to settle its European App Store fight has united its opponents instead. A coalition of 18 organizations, including the European Game Developer Federation and the Coalition for App Fairness, has signed a joint open letter telling the European Commission that Apple's new EU App Store terms still fall short of the Digital Markets Act. The letter expresses 'profound disappointment' with the Commission's apparent endorsement of terms drafted while affected businesses and users stayed out of the process.
The dispute centers on money and control. Apple announced the new terms on August 18 and plans to implement them from October 1, saying they followed 'close collaboration with the European Commission' and resolve its disagreements over business terms and alternative distribution. The coalition's central complaint is Apple's 15 percent fee for steering users to payments outside the App Store. DMA Article 5(4) requires gatekeepers to let developers communicate offers and conclude contracts with users free of charge. The Commission made that point with a 500 million euro fine in April 2025. The coalition says the new fee schedule keeps charging for what the law says must be free.
The groups also object to Apple replacing its Core Technology Fee with a 5 percent Core Technology Commission on transactions in apps distributed outside the App Store, calling it one disincentive swapped for another. They point to mandatory developer registration, app review, and contractual requirements for apps distributed outside the App Store as proof Apple retains gatekeeping power over alternative channels. A permanent charge, they argue, could keep alternative app stores from ever reaching the scale needed to compete. Accepting the terms, the letter says, would effectively rewrite the DMA.
The European Game Developer Federation brings serious weight: it represents 27 national games trade bodies and 2,500 European game developers, and Coalition for App Fairness members include Epic Games, Match Group, and Spotify. EGDF managing director Jari-Pekka Kaleva noted that platforms like Windows and Linux charge nothing at all for self distribution, showing Apple's fees are a choice rather than a necessity. The federation is also watching how Apple implements parental gates, insisting device level parental controls must remain available for games distributed outside Apple's walled garden.
Here is the angle that matters: the fight has moved from whether Apple complies to who gets to decide. The Commission has yet to formally comment on the apparent deal, leaving the market unable to tell whether the April 2025 non compliance findings are resolved or the alternative distribution proceedings remain open. The coalition calls that legal uncertainty itself an obstacle to competition. Meanwhile in the United States, a court order currently bars Apple from charging fees on external transactions at all, an injunction the Supreme Court declined to pause. Two continents, two different answers, one company threading the gap.
For European gamers and developers, this fight decides real things: what apps cost, which stores survive, and how much of every purchase flows to Cupertino and how much reaches creators. The coalition has asked the Commission to consult affected parties and bring its proceedings to a formal, reasoned conclusion. Until that answer lands, the DMA's promise of an open mobile market stays on paper. Watch Brussels, because the next move belongs to the regulators.
Sources
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