The Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to allow third-party app stores for iOS in Europe, leading several developers to launch alternative stores such as AltStore and MacPaw's Setapp (currently in closed beta). The latest entrant is long-established Android app store startup Aptoide, which is launching a games store in Europe.
The company announced today that its game store will be available for users to download and use on iOS starting June 6th.
Aptoide is initially launching its store with six titles, with plans to add more later. The company says that over 100 developers plan to release games on the App Store, but the official release will take some time due to Apple's certification process.
Launch titles include Word Jungle, a word puzzler, Condor — Leap of Faith, a jump-based platform game, All-in-one Solitaire, a collection of various solitaire games, All-in-one Mahjong, a collection of various mahjong games, and Charades — Guess the Word, another word puzzle game.
Currently, Word Jungle is the only game that has in-app purchases. Apptoide has a unique model where it charges developers different fees for in-app purchases. If a user discovers the app through an app store search or recommendation, the company charges a 20% fee, but if a developer acquires a user through paid advertising or community channels, Apptoide charges a 10% fee for in-app purchases. Developers can link these transactions to their website, and a 10% fee is paid to Apptoide.
The company said it went through a tedious process with Apple when applying to become an alternative app store, and it said the tech giant has not always been responsive.
TechCrunch briefly tested the app store. The installation process is very simple. Once you have the invitation or access code, you can access the link to download the app store. You need to go to settings and allow app store downloads from this unknown source (Aptoide).
The company plans to add 500 to 1,000 users to its waiting list each day after launch. The startup is doing this to stay within its annual limit of 1 million first-time installs and to avoid paying a core technology fee of €0.50 per first-time install.
Aptoide has been operating in the app store space with an Android client since 2009. Last year, the Android app store saw nearly 500 million downloads.
While Aptoide's experience running an app store on Android may help it to some extent, iOS is a whole different story, with Apple's own rules and restrictions, and with other stores vying for users' attention in the EU, the company will need to attract its own games to the store.