Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says Apple's “anticompetitive scheme rife with new junk fees” is illegal under the EU's DMA and an example of “malicious compliance”
or 20% of your sales I will never launch an app in Europe. [image] Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : Yes, Apple did. Because this scheme worked out so well for John Riccitiello. @dhh : Still trying to unpack all the new Apple/EU stuff, but at first glance, it does actually look like a big class of apps will be able to avoid Apple's rent seeking entirely. But there are a million asterisks and new clauses to consider! [image] Jason Kint / @jason_kint : “almost immediately, Apple announced a brazen new approach to extend the charging of exorbitant fees on purchases even when those purchases are made outside of Apple's walled garden - in direct contradiction with the spirit of the court's ruling.” https://digitalcontentnext.org/ ... @dhh : “At first glance, it could seem like Apple actually attempted some semblance of good faith compliance with the DMA. But once you start peeling the onion, you realize it's stuffed with poison pills so toxic you can scarcely believe Apple's chutzpah.” https://world.hey.com/... Ashley Gullen / @ashleygullen : Did... did Apple just introduce the equivalent of Unity's runtime install fee... but for all iOS app developers in the EU?! [image] Luther Lowe / @lutherlowe : NEW: Apple announces its DMA compliance plans. The devil will be in the details, but it's fair to say EU consumers/developers are getting a better deal from Apple than U.S. counterparts. This is the cost of inaction and the failure by Congress to pass common-sense laws. Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : 7/ Note that this per-install fee applies to apps downloaded from *any* store, not just alternative stores, if the developer opts into the new terms in the EU (developers can choose to maintain the current terms). Apple has published a fee calculator here: https://developer.apple.com/ ... [image] Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : 3/ Imagine an app with an EU average LTV of €5 (gross — which is high, esp. for games!). The developer is paying Apple €1.35 per install, or 27% margin, and another 3% potentially to process payments, for 30%. No economic benefit coupled with likely smaller scale and additional... Nikita Bier / @nikitabier : If you make less than $0.57 per user—which is most apps—you will end up negative and you will owe Apple money. Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : @Andreas_Schwab The EU-specific DMA-related terms and conditions Apple announced today are designed for only one purpose: to make sure the DMA won't achieve its stated goal of competition and consumer choice. Anyone trying to offer developers and consumers choice will lose money. Eric Migicovsky / @ericmigi : It will take a few years, but the impact of Apple's actions over the last few months will fundamentally change how the world (and devs specifically) perceives Apple. https://www.apple.com/... [image] @dhh : @eldsjal ... Yeah, that's clearly one of the poison pills. But for Spotify that's presumably not exactly a blocker? If we can get an EU App Store up and running that allows apps to do their own payment processing, then it's still far more advantageous than the insane 30% cut. @dhh : @TimSweeneyEpic @FortniteGame Yeah, just realized that since Apple still reserves the right to vet any app maker, regardless of the 3rd party store distributing it, they still have total control over who gets to publish. So thus can bar any developer from the program. Daniel Ek / @eldsjal : @dhh @FortniteGame Hmm... what do you then make of the 50c per first-annual-download fee they've put in? Imagine you have an active base of hundred million users. Cc @TimSweeneyEpic Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : “Compliance” [Image of Dr Evil gesturing air quotes] Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : @dhh @FortniteGame Apple has adopted the “defense in depth” strategy. Create such a lengthy series of interdependent obstructions to competition that even if regulators overcome 80% of them, there will still be enough obstacles that no real competition can occur. @appfairness : Apple clearly has no intention to comply with the DMA... Apple's ‘plan’ is a shameless insult to the European Commission and the millions of European consumers they represent - it must not stand and should be rejected by the Commission. @RVMky: [image] Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : @nos_ult The security concerns aren't real. Apps that sell physical goods have always been free to use their own payment services. This just gives digital goods sellers the same rights. There are numerous highly secure third-party payment services. Bruce Lawson / @brucel : Now we will see how malicious compliance manifests itself. But for now, for this weekend, I'm enjoying the fact that a ramshackle bunch of developers in Birmingham, adelaide, and here and there around the world, helped get the world's biggest company to cave. Theo / @t3dotgg : This is legit worse than Unity's stuff wtf Source: https://developer.apple.com/ ... [image] Theo / @t3dotgg : Under Apple's new terms for the EU, users installing an app now costs the devs €0.50. For an app with 8 million installs, it's over $310k a year in fees, even if the app is free. [image] Maximiliano Firtman / @firt : AFAIK, this fee ALSO applies to official App Store downloads in EU if you agree to the new terms and publish your app on alternative app stores. 🤨 Or, you can stay with current terms and publish only with Apple. 🙄 Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : My take on Apple's recently-announced App Store “business terms” for the EU, ahead of its necessary compliance with the DMA: the per-install fee dramatically diminishes the viability of side-loading and third-party stores. (1/X) https://www.apple.com/... [image] Magnus / @magnushambleton : The EU's new DMA legislation has plenty of flaws, but it very reasonably says that Apple has a defacto monopoly in the App Store...Apple does not like this...So it does what old, stale innovators dilemma companies does: it tries to find new, even more unreasonable ways to get enforce its monopoly, while making it look like it's the regulator's fault... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Apple has provided a calculator to compare how much developers will pay post-DMA rules and it's wild. If you have 10 million users and make $1 per user per year with IAPs, you will average $250K a month in payments to Apple today. In the post-DMA world, it's $574K. 🤯🤯🤯🤯 [image] @dhh : @FortniteGame If all this actually stands up, and we don't find additional poison pills in Apple's compliance, it'll be ridiculous how much better a European iPhone will be than the one the rest of the world gets. So much more software will be available. Can't wait to retro game on iPad! M.G. Siegler / @mgsiegler : Well, there's one person who believes Apple is in the “taunting” camp... Lewis Crofts / @lewis_crofts : “Hot garbage” and “junk fees” Epic Games @TimSweeneyEpic decidedly unhappy with @tim_cook & @Apple announcement on #DMA compliance Megan Gray / @megangra : I like this framing, “malicious compliance.” @games_fray : Apple's rules are designed so alternative stores by someone like Epic or Microsoft Xbox won't get traction. They won't have a chance to enter the market because of Apple's terms. Alternative payment services won't take off either. Enforcement is needed! https://www.apple.com/... Luther Lowe / @lutherlowe : The Core Technology Fee seems optimized to screw apps that achieve scale (i.e. the average app on your phone). If someone gets 1mn users in EU, they have to pay $0.50 per year per user. What a joke. Apple is just trolling the EU here. [image]