Epic Games Store Webshops launches to help iOS developers offer out-of-app purchases

AppleInsider

Following Apple's sanctioning for violating an injunction to remove anti-steering measures, Epic Games is launching Webshops to make it easier for third-party developers to handle out-of-app purchases for iOS apps.

The Epic Games Store is available in the EU.

Epic is seemingly having a very good Thursday, with Apple smarting from a ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers that it didn't do enough to meet the terms of an injunction issued in 2021. Capitalizing on the ruling, Epic says it will help iOS developers introduce alternative purchase methods to apps, without needing to pay Apple's 27% commission fee.

In a post to the Epic Games Store, Epic Games says that it is making two changes that affects developers in June. The first is the introduction of Epic Games Store Webshops, a way for developers to launch their own webshops hosted by the Epic Games Stores.

The webshops will provide a way to perform out-of-app purchases, in that app developers could point users toward the webshop for transactions relating to the app. This is meant to be instead of using the typical in-app purchases mechanism, which has Apple taking a 30% commission from purchases.

Epic points this out, referring to the Webshops as "a more cost-effective alternative to in-app purchases, where Apple, Google, and others charge exorbitant fees."

Referencing the ruling, Epic advises that developers can send players from games to make digital purchases from the webshops on any platform that allows the practice. Leaning further into attacking Apple, Epic specifically says this includes iOS in the European Union and the United States.

As a further benefit, players who spend money in Epic Webshops will also gain 5% in Epic Rewards.

At the same time, Epic is adjusting its Epic Games Store payments in June, so that developers pay a 0% fee on their first million dollars in revenue per app per year. After that milestone, the revenue share reverts to 88% for the developer, 12% for Epic.

While Epic doesn't say what the revenue share will be for the webshops, it is probable that they will follow the same percentages as the Epic Games Store itself.

Needling Apple

The changes to the Epic Games Store and the introduction of webshops occur at a time when Apple has to deal with Judge Rogers, who sees Apple as failing to abide by the anti-steering injunction from the long-running Epic vs Apple lawsuit.

Under the ruling update, Apple must cease charging fees on purchases made outside the app, and stop needing developers to report their purchases. Apple also must lift restrictions on how developers promote alternate payment options within their apps, as well as comply with other smaller requirements laid out by Judge Rogers.

Epic's webshops certainly capitalize on the major news, and for good reason. If Epic manages to encourage large apps to take up its webshops offer, it could feasibly earn even more by handling the transactions.



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elijahg

12% seems like rather a lot for what appears to be nothing more than a payment processor.  Why not use Paypal which is something like 1.5%?

appleinsideruser

elijahg said:

12% seems like rather a lot for what appears to be nothing more than a payment processor.  Why not use Paypal which is something like 1.5%?

Those poor Epic folk have to earn a crust. They have costs you know! Baiting Apple isn’t cheap. Court costs add up. It’s only fair! 😉

loopless

elijahg said:

12% seems like rather a lot for what appears to be nothing more than a payment processor.  Why not use Paypal which is something like 1.5%?

So the penny finally drops. So let's be clear, Epics court case was not some kind of 1984 freedom from oppression battle. It was first and foremost a plan for them to increase their revenue by acting as a payment processor and diverting money that would normally go to Apple into their pockets.

I guess they have some kind of API so that an app can check the user paid for the feature.  Funny how they came up with 12% < 15%? 

Can they provide anything as frictionless as Apple provides in terms of payment processing?  Apple deals with the vagaries of purchases made in USA vs EU vs Brazil vs Japan etc and provides detailed reporting and marketing information to a developer for their 15%-30%. 

I would guess some greedy app developers will try this but I see a lot of customer resistance.

freeassociate2

There’s a reason r/fuckepic has 49k members 

forumpost

Nobody like in-app purchases. Just pay once and be done.