Aptoide, the popular Google Play alternative for Android devices, is launching a third-party iOS app store in the EU – the first entirely focused on gaming since the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules came into effect shop.
Aptoide’s iOS games store will launch in a closed format on Thursday, initially only accessible to those with an invitation-only access code. Aptoide says it has a waiting list of 20,000 registrants and plans to release 500 to 1,000 codes per day, with the limited releases allowing the platform to monitor feedback from early adopters.
The Aptoide iOS store will feature seven games — a fairly standard collection of popular games like Solitaire, Trivia, and Mahjong — but the company says the store will eventually “include content from different developers.” Aptoide claims that “more than 100” iOS developers have expressed interest in the platform and that 30 products are currently being integrated.
Unlike Aptoide’s other app markets, the iOS store is currently focused solely on games, and the company plans to add new games to the store every week after launch. Aptoide CEO Paulo Trezentos tells us edge The Service may be expanded to provide additional content and services in the future.
Notably, Aptoide is also the first third-party iOS marketplace in Europe to launch an Apple-approved in-app purchase (IAP) solution, which will be available to developers through the IAP software development kit.
The company is taking a new approach to offset the 50-cent Core Technology Fee (CTF) Apple installs annually for its stores. This cost is not passed directly to the user in the form of a subscription, but is supported through in-app purchase fees charged to developers. “This means that IAP-driven applications will become the first choice for Aptoide iOS,” Trezentos said. “Hopefully one day, as unit economics change and CTF is no longer charged, we will be able to serve more developers.”
Other alternative iOS app stores launching in the EU have also built their own ways around CTF. Setapp currently absorbs the fee, but says it will be included in the Setapp Mobile subscription price in the future. AltStore PAL, meanwhile, pays for the installation of the app marketplace itself through an annual subscription fee of €1.50 (tax included).
